


I See the Light

by CaptainPoupon



Series: Bring Me Home [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, Angst, F/M, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romance, The Enchanted Forest, The Jolly Roger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 09:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 94,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7634065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainPoupon/pseuds/CaptainPoupon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma has found something she never thought she would have: love. She feels like she can finally be happy, and imagines living a peaceful life with Killian above the Jolly Roger. But nothing happens as planned. Her magic she’s trying to learn how to control, nightmares she’s having as a side effect of a sleeping curse, and especially a boy who claims to be her son, are going to shake up her and Killian’s life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Flares

Emma opened her eyes. The sunlight was already flooding the quarters. A smile instantly brightened her features when she realized the presence of Killian’s arm wrapped around her. She could feel his chest moving against her back and hear his deep breathing; he was probably still asleep, but looking back to check would surely awake him. Her fingers softly closed on his arm and a light sigh escaped her while she closed her eyes again, thinking of these past few months. When she had made a wish on her twenty-eighth birthday, and this book had mysteriously appeared and taken her away from Boston to bring her to the Enchanted Forest, never could she have expected it to be the best thing which had ever happened to her. It had led her to the man who was now holding her in his arms, the one who had won her heart; the man she loved. Killian had always done everything for her, and this since the first day when they had met. When the book had made her travel between the realms, she had firstly met an old man calling himself the Apprentice. While wondering whether he was insane, or whether it was all a dream and she was about to awake, she had listened to him talking about this one prophecy. According to this prophecy, the one who could give her what she was looking for was Killian Jones. Though doubtful, she had left the Apprentice with only one thing in mind: she had to find Killian Jones. The prophecy was the first thing she had talked about: she needed him to bring her home, to lead her back to Boston. His crew was supposed to set sail, but he had not hesitated to put her first and postpone his departure to help her. Together, they had climbed a beanstalk, looking for a magic bean which would allow them to create a portal to Boston. But the only bean they had found was dry, devoid of any magical power. Killian had then invited her to come along with them, and she had accepted, joining the crew the time for them to find a solution. But nothing had turned out as expected. Enquiring into the reason of their lateness in their mission, the Evil Queen, who the crew was at that time working for, had paid them a visit. Confronted with the choice to follow her or watch her turn the ship into flames, Emma had not hesitated long, and had found herself locked at the top of a tower. But Killian had come to save her. And he had saved her again when the Evil Queen had taken her away from him for the second time, awaking her from this cursed sleep with a kiss.

On the first day when she had run into him, something had happened; from the beginning, there had been something between them. And little by little, he had broken down her walls, these walls supposed to keep out pain, but which had also been keeping out love. She could feel they were getting closer every day. She had awaken from the sleeping curse four days earlier, and these past few days spent with him had been nothing but good; never in her life had she been even close to feel as fulfilled as she had felt with him. During these past few days, he had shared with her his passion, teaching her how to sail or how to sword fight. They had become so close it had led them to intimately share the night for the first time. Emma bit her lip to repress a smile and her hold on his arm tightened as memories of this night flooded her thoughts. The next morning, she had found him on deck to finally tell him what she had known for a while but had been denying for weeks; she had talked about the prophecy again, about how on the first day when they had met, she had asked him to bring her home, back to Boston, and how she had been wrong about this: she needed him to bring her home, but home was not Boston. She had told him all he had been wanting to hear: she was not willing to go back to her realm. Not that they had found a solution to travel between the realms anyway; the magic bean they had found up the beanstalk had been the only price Rumplestitskin had accepted to help Killian find Emma. But this didn’t change anything: Emma was not interested in going back to Boston, she only wanted to be where Killian was. How could she not, when the only thing she had felt these past few days was her love for him, a love which was reciprocal? With him, she had been feeling only loved and happy. That was if she didn’t count this one time when he had driven her mad: the man she loved had risked his own life by willingly walking the plank, to try and trigger her magic. Blindly trusting her, he had not hesitated for a second. Luckily, it had worked, and her magic had saved him. Afterwards, he had told her he had been confident because he had known it would work.

The fact magic was a part of her was one of the things she had learnt about herself in this realm; a magic she was unable to control. The only times when her powers had revealed themselves were in situations of great danger, mostly when the Evil Queen had been involved. The Evil Queen was their most serious issue; lately, life had been better than anything Emma could have ever dreamt of, and she was feeling like this couldn’t last. She was afraid the Evil Queen would appear aboard anytime, like she had done the second time she had taken her away from Killian. Emma was actually surprised she hadn’t showed up yet; she had surely been warned by now that her love had rescued her. Killian’s fighting skills and her magic were their only chance, they had no time to lose: she had to learn how to control her magic. The previous day, she had thought of a way to practice without risking anyone’s life. She was not sure it would work, but she needed to try.

Killian’s breathing was still deep and steady; he seemed to be still asleep. Emma softly trailed her fingers along his arm, and smiled as his embrace tightened and his lips pressed on her neck.

“Good morning, love.”

Brightly smiling at the sound of his voice, she lightly pushed his arm and turned over to face him. “Good morning, captain.”

“Worried about the Evil Queen again?” he asked after gazing into her eyes. Of course he had guessed what she was thinking about.

“Why are you always right? This is no fun,” she playfully whined.

“How many times will I have to tell you, love? You’re my open book.”

With an amused smile, she leant closer and kissed him, both momentarily forgetting about the Evil Queen.

* * *

 While Killian was on deck, Emma was in their quarters, sitting at the desk and staring at the book. She was so absorbed that she didn’t hear him entering. Slowly coming closer, he tilted his head to examine her expression.

“Are you all right, love?”

Emma started with surprise and giggled lightly. “When will you stop surprising me like this?”

“Would you believe me if I told you I’m not doing it on purpose?” Leaning over to wrap an arm around her chest, he kissed her cheek before resting his chin on her shoulder. “Why are you staring at this logbook?”

“I want it to move. I’m trying to practice magic.”

“And you don’t need me to walk the plank?”

“I don’t want you to do this ever again.” She turned her head. He was so close that her nose brushed his cheek and she leant against him. They remained like this for a moment, until he broke the silence.

“Will you tell me how you intend to use your magic without needing me to face danger?”

“Our love.” Keeping his arm wrapped around her, Killian raised an inquiring eyebrow and looked at her. Emma explained, “Like the first time when we faced the Evil Queen.”

“But you were in danger. She was about to rip your heart out while I was tied up to the mast.”

“I keep thinking it was our love which triggered my magic. I was looking at you and thinking of our first kiss when it happened. At this time, I had not even realized I was in love with you. But now, what we have is so strong… Magic is emotion, that’s what I’ve read in books. I was thinking that if I focused on the way you…” A soft blush covered her cheeks before she talked quite fast. “If I think of our night together, maybe it’ll be enough to trigger it.”

“Sounds like a very reasonable plan.” He couldn’t repress his smile as he stood up. “Perhaps I can help? Since you were looking at me the first time, perhaps seeing the man you love will help.”

With this crooked smile she was finding irresistible, Killian took her hand and skirted the table to sit in front of her. Their hands resting on the table, their fingers laced together, they gazed into each other’s eyes. A smirk slowly made its way to his features.

“Don’t forget you were trying to use your magic.”

He chuckled lightly as she opened her mouth but no word came and she looked down at the book, realizing she had momentarily lost herself in this world belonging to the both of them. She gazed into his eyes again and let the memories of their night together wash over her, while trying to remember she wanted the book to move. Minutes went by. Staring at her, Killian was immobile. And so was the book. Keeping his hand in hers, she closed her eyes, lightly biting her lip as she tried to focus. It was not easy not to get lost in such thoughts, but wanting it to work, she was quite determined. But after half an hour, she sighed.

“The book won’t move, it’s not working. I am wasting your time.”

Killian raised an eyebrow. “How could you be wasting my time? I could spend a lifetime staring at you without ever getting tired of it. I love watching you trying to use your magic, or wondering whenever a smile crosses your lips what exactly you’re thinking of. Love, there is no way being with you could be a waste of my time.”

“So you don’t mind if I try again?”

“Not at all. I have all the time in the world.”

She smiled and closed her eyes again. Killian watched her with eyes full of love. He meant his words; he wouldn’t mind spending the day sitting there and simply staring at her, just to be by her side while she was trying to use her magic. She couldn’t control it yet, but he knew she would succeed at last; he had yet to see her fail. He had seen the power inside of her and knew her potential was great, even if sometimes she didn’t seem to see it herself. This was not a problem, because he intended to be here to remind her whenever she needed him to.

She had come into his life at a moment when he had already been considering himself happy. Though wounds made when he was a child had tended to linger, time had finally eased them; he was not this young adult haunted by his past anymore. He had his brother, and had been spending years sailing with him. Sailing was what he loved and he thought he finally had everything he needed. That was until he had met her. Never would he forget this moment when she had run into him; this feeling like he just knew she was the one whose eyes he was born to gaze into. From the beginning, he had not been willing to let her go, but he loved her enough to consider doing so, if that was what she wanted to: she had come to him because of a prophecy telling he was the one giving her what she needed, she had asked him to bring her back to Boston. At this time, he had no idea how to travel between the realms, but he loved a challenge, and he wasn’t willing to let her go: he had figured they would find a way to bring her home together. This was how she had joined the crew and how, in the meantime, she had brightened his life, making it much better than anything he could have ever dreamed of. He had promised himself he would always do everything for her, because her smile simply was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Of course it had not always been easy, because his love for her was as deep and true as the pain not to have her by his side was unbearable; these two times when the Evil Queen had taken her away from him, he had spent weeks walking through hell while looking for her. But it had been worth it, because she meant everything to him. He was a fan of every part of her. Her love was the best thing he had ever had, and her heart was the most precious of all the treasures, a treasure he would protect at any price.

His smile was filled with tenderness as he watched her, still focused on trying to move the book. He looked down at their fingers laced together and, with his thumb, softly brushed the back of her hand. He raised his eyebrows and she suddenly opened her eyes; the book had not moved but there had been a flare coming out of her hand.

“Did you see that?” Emma asked, looking at their fingers.

“Aye! You’re almost there, love. You can do it!”

She looked up at him with a smile.

“I need to try again. Maybe next time the book will move.”

“Aye, you will succeed.” He slightly tilted his head on the side. “Emma, may I try something?”

Though obviously wondering what he had in mind, Emma nodded. Seeing how there had been a flare when he had brushed the back of her hand had given him an idea. Keeping his hand in hers, he stood up and came to her.

“Stand up,” he told her with a smile.

Obviously having no idea what he was up to, she complied, curiously looking at him. He sat down on the chair she had been occupying a few seconds earlier, and pulled her down on his lap.

“Since there was a flare when I caressed your hand…”

“You think holding me like this will help triggering my magic,” she finished his sentence. “Maybe you’re right.”

Sitting sideways on his lap, his hooked arm in her back, her hand still in his, she looked at the book on the table. He let her focus without distracting her, but minutes went by and nothing happened. She pushed the book away.

“Wasn’t this what you were supposed to do by using your magic?” Killian asked with a smirk.

“I’m trying something else.” She looked down at her hand resting on her thigh.

“What are you trying to do?”

“If it works, you’ll see.”

Again, he remained quiet as he watched her staring down at her hand. The temptation to pull her closer to him was strong but he stopped himself from distracting her. Other silent minutes went by, until she sighed and looked up at him. The sigh meant everything.

“I know what you’re thinking, love, and you’re wrong: you will do it. Don’t give up.” He took advantage of her looking up to cave in. “Stay focused on whatever it is that you’re trying to do.”

Before she had time to say anything, Killian leant forward and captured her lips, softly at first. The kiss intensified and soon enough became passionate. Emma shifted on his lap to face him, her fingers threading through his hair and reaching for the back of his head. She smiled against his lips and giggled lightly.

“How am I supposed to focus on anything but you when you kiss me like this?”

“My apologies,” he said with a smirk, obviously not sorry at all. “I was just trying to help. Alright, I’ll behave. Or at least try to. Focus, I know you can do it.”

“I’ll try.”

Emma looked down at her hand, again resting on her thigh, its palm facing the ceiling. Trying to focus more, she closed her eyes. Killian smiled; the temptation was just too strong, and he had kept in mind the flares had come out when he had caressed her hand at a moment when she didn’t expect it. Now that she had her eyes closed seemed to be the right time to try again. He slowly leant forward, keeping his eyes open, on the lookout for any sign of magic, and pressed an open-mouth kiss on her neck. Instantly, flares burst, brighter than the first time. Killian had not doubted for a second that she would do it, but his eyes still filled with love and tenderness when he saw the flares.

“I did it!” She beamed and it made him smile even more.

He followed her gaze and that was when he saw it; in her hand was his hook. He glanced down at his wrist and chuckled; she had indeed removed his hook.

“That’s what you’ve been trying to do all this time?”

“I considered taking off your shirt, but I thought it may be bad form, so I went for the hook.”

“Since when do you worry about good form?” he asked, repressing a laugh.

Ignoring his question, she tucked the hook in the collar of his shirt and pulled him to her.

“Quite the convenient attachment!” she commented.

She giggled and, not letting go of the piece of metal, avidly pressed her lips against his for another passionate kiss. Breathless, she leant her forehead against his.

“May I have it back? My hook?” he asked with a smirk.

Removing it from his shirt, she took care of putting it back in its place before leaning against him to hug him, her face in the crook of his neck. “Thank you, for being so patient.”

“You’re welcome,” Killian said, tilting his head to peck her cheek. “I told you, Swan: when it comes to you, I have all the time in the world.”

* * *

The night had fallen. Gazing at the horizon ahead of them, her blonde curls dancing in the cool breeze, Emma was holding the wheel of the Jolly Roger. Though she enjoyed sailing, the main reason why she had got into the habit of holding the wheel was that it allowed her to be in her favorite place: in Killian’s embrace. His arms were wrapped around her waist, his fingers under her shirt softly caressing her hip, his cheek pressed against hers. Emma’s eyelids were growing heavy.

“Do you want me to take the wheel?” he asked, looking at her from over her shoulder.

“No. It’s just that, with all this focusing on my magic, I’m feeling slightly tired. But I’m fine. Keep me in your arms.”

Emma kissed his cheek and focused back on the horizon, which was visible only because the moonlight was reflecting off the surface of the ocean. She was fighting sleep; the night was still young and she didn’t want to have to leave already, because she knew Killian was supposed to stay on deck until his brother would come and replace him. But after a few minutes, like every time she was fighting sleep while being in his secure and warm embrace, she lost: before she had time to realize, her eyes closed and her hands slipped off the wheel. Killian woke her up with a kiss on the neck.

“You seem to be more than just slightly tired,” he whispered in her ear. “You should get some sleep.”

“When the captain has fulfilled his duties, will he come to me?” she asked with a sleepy voice, looking up at him.

“Of course, love. Liam should awake soon, he’ll take the next watch and I’ll come straight back to you.”

“Good.” Emma turned in his arms to kiss him, lightly tugging at his lip, wishing he could come with her. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, love.”

Emma let herself fall on the bed, and soon fell asleep. But the smile which had been on her features all day quickly faded away as she found herself in this place again, this red room with no door and no window, and with curtains on fire. Somehow, she knew she didn’t have to be afraid, because she knew it was only a nightmare; in the past few nights, she had visited this same place already twice. But though she knew it was unreal, she could feel her heart thumping in her chest as she was close to give into panic. She had come here, but the memories of how she had escaped were unclear. Looking for a way out, she scanned the room. And she screamed when she saw a silhouette in the shadow.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, don’t be afraid!”

Slowly, the silhouette came out of the shadow and it turned out to be just a boy; a boy who was looking up at her.

“Are you Emma Swan?” he asked before she had time to say anything, and she frowned, wondering how he knew her name.

“Yeah, who are you?”

“My name’s Henry, I’m your son.”


	2. Netherworld

Emma woke up with a start, her heart thumping against her chest, the image of the boy still clearly in her thoughts. She quickly looked around, reassured that she was still in the quarters. Killian wasn’t there; he was probably still on deck. Lying on her back, staring at the ceiling, Emma was slowly catching her breath, repeating to herself it had only been a nightmare. But the words of the boy were haunting her and she flattened her lips to prevent tears from filling her eyes.

Pushing the blanket aside, she got up and left the quarters. She hurried up on deck and spotted Killian right away, standing behind the wheel. She ducked under his arm and buried into his embrace. His arm instantly slipped in her back.

“Emma, are you alright?” he asked with a voice filled with worry.

“Nightmare,” she simply replied.

“The same one again?”

Somehow it was the same one; she had found herself in this same red room with curtains on fire. But the worst part of it had not been the room itself. It had been the boy. A boy she didn’t want to talk about. “Yes, the same one.”

Securely held in his tight embrace, she finally let tears silently roll down her cheeks.

“Smee!” Killian called after a few minutes. Emma looked up at him while the man with the red hat came. “Liam should come soon. Meanwhile, take the wheel.”

“Killian, are you sure this won’t be a problem?” she asked as he tenderly grabbed her hand and led her below deck.

“Being the captain has its advantages,” he said while opening the door to their quarters. “I’ve noticed you don’t have so many nightmares when I’m with you.”

Looking down, her tongue lightly brushing her bottom lip, Emma considered this for a moment. He was right; she had never had any nightmare when he had been holding her in his arms.

“There must be something magical about the way you hold me against you.” A soft smile tugging at her lips, she lightly kissed him. “You must be my dreamcatcher, because the night is always good when you’re here.”

“One more reason for me to stay with you,” he said with a tender smile.

* * *

Their theory seemed to be verified as Emma had a dreamless night. His embrace was so soothing to her that she had even forgot about the boy for a few hours. But even Killian’s embrace was not powerful enough to soothe her all night long: as soon as she woke up, the image of his face came back to her. It was still dark outside; obviously too early to be awake. It was impossible for her to fall back asleep, not with the image of the boy haunting her. Even if she knew it had been a nightmare, it had been enough to remind her of this period of her life, this time when the man she thought loved her had let her go to prison for his own crimes, abandoning her while she was pregnant. She was still young at this time. How could have she been a mother when she had spent her childhood in the foster system, in families who had always ended up abandoning her, making her feel like she was unlovable and unwanted? It had been clear to her that the baby would be better without her and she had given him up for adoption. She had spent the next years trying to forget him, trying not to think of how old he was, or to wonder whether he was receiving more love than she had. She realized the boy in her dream looked like he was the right age; he could be her son. But he wasn’t. This had been a nightmare. Emma was just wondering why she had had this nightmare now, now that she had put her past behind and started a new life.

Realizing her pillow was wet, Emma quickly wiped away the tears which had been rolling down without her knowing. Tempted to turn in Killian’s arms, she resisted, unwilling to wake him up so early. Time seemed to go by extremely slowly. It was with relief that Emma saw the first lights of dawn breaking through the window. Unable to wait any longer, she finally turned in his arms and pressed her face in his neck. As every time it was the case, he seemed to perceive there was something wrong.

“Love, are you alright? Did you have a nightmare again?”

“No. I just need to forget about the one from yesterday night.”

She pressed her lips against his skin, breathing his scent and letting it intoxicate her. Feeling his fingers slipping under her top and caressing her back while he trailed soft kisses across her cheek, Emma melted in his embrace. This had the expected effect since her thoughts were monopolized by him and only him.

“Do you want to practice magic again, today?” he asked after a moment.

Emma had not considered the idea yet, but she felt like she didn’t have the strength for this. “Not today. I think I’ll read some books.”

On the ship was a collection of books about magic. Maybe she could find something about nightmares. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but anything may help.

* * *

Later during the day, after having unsuccessfully looked through a first book, Emma grabbed another one and went up on deck. Reading had kept her mind busy and she had managed to stop reliving the nightmare over and over again. Lightly pressing a kiss on Killian’s cheek, she then showed him the book to indicate him he didn’t need to leave the wheel once again. She went to sit down on the railing, at the spot where they were usually going, close to the bow, and opened her book. But unlike the quarters, the deck was much more distracting: besides the sound of the waves crashing against the hull of the ship, looking up was all it was taking to see the man she loved. Most of the time when she did, she caught his eyes, as he didn’t seem to take his eyes off of her. With a smile, she was looking down, pretending to focus on her book. But as soon as she looked down, her smile was fading away; unable to focus on reading, her nightmare was haunting her again. She was wondering whether it had actually been a nightmare, and this was precisely the reason why she was looking for any piece of information about it in books. But whether it had been a nightmare or not, the problem was the same: she had abandoned a baby and had not told Killian anything about it.

Emma didn’t realize she had been blankly staring at him for the past few minutes. Nor did she notice he had left Smee with the wheel again. Her eyes followed him as he came closer, but it was only when he sat down by her side and took her hand that she regained consciousness.

“Emma, I can tell that your heart is uneasy. I know you are troubled by this nightmare, but I want you to know that, whatever weight might be on your shoulders, you don’t have to go through this on your own. I am here.” He cupped her cheek and, faced with so much tenderness coming from him, she bit her lip to fight back the tears. “Love, you can tell me anything, you know that?”

Biting her lip with an increasing intensity, she nodded. She knew she could.

“I…” she started, willing to tell him everything. But the words simply didn’t come. “…will be fine. I’m going back to the quarters.”

She kissed him and Killian watched her go back below deck. There was no doubt about it: something was wrong. He could just see it; besides being more distant, he had noticed how much she had been biting her lip, how each of her smiles wasn’t reaching her eyes, or how she seemed to avoid these lingering gazes which so often were getting them lost. Something was wrong, but he also knew she was used to deal with everything on her own, and opening up was not natural to her. This was part of these walls she had built up, walls he was slowly breaking down. Knowing this, he just knew he shouldn’t insist: if she wanted to share, she would tell him in her own time.

Shutting the door closed, Emma leant back against it and slid down. Sitting down with her head in her knees, she quietly burst into tears. This was all too much. This nightmare had confused her and the more she was trying to answer her own questions, the worse it was. The more she was wondering if it had only been a nightmare, the more she was thinking it had been more than that. But besides the thought of the boy haunting her, the fact she was hiding this from Killian was the worst. Though she knew he was aware that he didn’t know much about her past, in this moment when the baby she had abandoned was all she could think about, she felt like she was betraying his trust by not telling him. Since keeping that secret was bothering her, she had wondered why she didn’t feel like opening up to him. If someone might be understandable, it would be him. But she had realized why she was so reluctant to tell him only when he had come to talk to her on deck. The tenderness of his voice as he had reminded her she could tell him anything, the love she could see in his eyes as he gazed into hers; what if telling him changed everything? The more she was thinking about it, the more abundant were the tears. Now, she knew why she hadn’t been able to tell him. The reason was this fear of losing the most precious thing she had ever had: his love for her. She was already blaming herself for what she had done, why would he find her deeds acceptable? What would he think of her if he knew? He didn’t have any flaw; how could she, a lost girl who had abandoned a baby, deserve his love? Carried away by the torrent of her thoughts, the answer to this question seemed obvious to her: she didn’t deserve him. There were even more tears but she did nothing to stop them. Instead, she let them roll down while the same thoughts kept haunting her. Killian didn’t come to see her and she was thankful for this. This was one of the many things she loved about him: he just knew when she needed some time alone and he respected that. Though she wished she could be in his arms, she knew she wasn’t ready yet to face him without bursting into tears. Still sitting on the floor, her head in her knees, she kept crying and lost track of time. She only knew she had been crying for so long that she was now exhausted and didn’t have any energy left for any more tears. Looking up, she considered lying down on the bed. She knew what could happen if she did, and she was terrified to go back there, but maybe the red room was the only place where she would find answers.

Determined, Emma took a deep breath and got up on her feet to go and lie down on the bed. Exhausted, it didn’t take her long to find herself in the room with curtains on fire.

“You came back!”

Emma spotted the boy coming to her. She tried to remain calm. Though she wanted answers, a part of her had been hoping he wouldn’t be here so she could consider it had only been a nightmare and forget about him.

“What do you want with me?” she asked quite boldly, anxiously glancing around.

“I’m your son, and there’s something I need to tell you.”

“How could you be my son?” She was hoping she could find an escape out of this room and wake up, but she still wasn’t controlling how to get out of this place.

“Ten years ago, did you give up a baby for adoption? That was me.” Emma stepped back and he closed the distance again, holding out his arm towards her. “Please, don’t leave me again. I don’t like being alone in this room. Please. I don’t know how much time I have left here.”

Emma figured out this was the right time to get answers. “What is this room, and how are you here?”

“We’re in Netherworld, it’s a place you’re visiting when you’re asleep because of the sleeping curse, and how I’m here would be too long to explain, I’ll tell you that later, when you find me. This is what I need to tell…”

But Emma was not listening to him anymore. To find him? Panic struck, her heart rate increased; she didn’t want to find him. It felt suddenly warm and the next second, she found herself sitting on the bed, in Killian’s arms, her heart still thumping in her chest. Before she had time to stop them, she burst into tears. Though willing to know what was wrong, Killian still decided not to rush her and simply held her in a tight embrace for a while. Tears finally stopped and her breath steadied, synchronizing itself with his.

“I don’t want to have this nightmare anymore.”

“You won’t. It indeed seems like you’re having nightmares when I’m not with you. So I’ll just stay by your side.”

“Killian…” Emma bit her lip, once again overwhelmed by his tenderness. Keeping her face buried in his neck, it took her some time before admitting it. “Yesterday night, when you asked me whether it was the same dream… I’ve lied to you.” She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. “There was something different about it. The place was the same, it was still this red room, but I wasn’t alone, there was a boy…”

Emma wasn’t able to tell more about it as the lump in her throat kept her words from coming out.

Killian, however, didn’t consider she had lied to him; it had been obvious there was something more than this nightmare, he had been aware there had been something she was keeping secret. He tilted his head, gazing into her eyes as he tried to know more. “A boy? Do you know him?”

Tears started again to roll down her cheeks, but she didn’t look away, because she was afraid it might be the last occasion for her to see this love and this tenderness in his eyes.

“I’ve done something terrible, something I’ve never talked about. Ten years ago, I was pregnant, but I couldn’t be a mother, and I’ve abandoned him. The boy said he was my son.”

Emma had talked very fast without taking her eyes off of him, judging his reaction. He looked surprised and confused at first.

“You have a son?” he repeated.

Biting her lip, still trying to fight back the tears, she nodded. She kept staring at him, studying his features, afraid he might decide to leave any second. But instead, his expression softened and he caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers, wiping her tears away in the meantime. There was a soft smile on his lips, and there still seemed to be the same love in his eyes. She gazed, wondering whether what she was seeing was real.

“Do you still love me?”

Though she was afraid of the answer he might give, she had to be certain what she was seeing was not just the fruit of her imagination. Killian stared into her eyes, his eyebrows raised in surprise, for a second wondering whether he had heard the question right.

“My love, I have loved you since the moment when we met, I love you, and I will never stop loving you. Emma, you are the one I love and nothing will ever change this: you are my only one.”

A tear rolled down her cheek and she pressed her forehead on his shoulder.

“I’m not worth it.”

“Love, trust me, you are. If you could see yourself the way I see you, you would know.”

“What I’ve done is horrible.”

“I wouldn’t say horrible is the right word. But even if it was,” he cupped her chin to make her look up at him, “I know who you are today, and whatever you’ve done won’t change the fact that I love you. If the roles were reversed, it’d be the same.”

“Have you ever abandoned a baby?” she asked, trying to prove her point: roles couldn’t be reversed.

“No, but I know that whatever I might tell you about my past, you’d choose to see the best in me. And I, with you.”

Looking into his eyes, Emma wondered how she had been so lucky to meet him, or how he could consider she was worth his love. Tears were still threatening to come and he seemed to notice.

“Come here,” he said in a tender voice.

He lied down on his back and softly pulled her on top of him. Resting her head over his heart, her fingers curled around his biceps and she closed her eyes, enjoying the way his fingers slipped under her top and trailed over her back. Silence blanketed them. As minutes passed, her breathing steadied as his embrace soothed her.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes.” She lifted up her head and shifted up over him to press a soft kiss on his lips. “Thank you.”

“My love,” he said, cupping her cheek, his eyes locked on hers. “I want you to know that whatever it is, you can always trust me with your burden. Nothing you can do or say can make me love you less, you don’t have to worry about this.”

“I love you,” she said, overwhelmed with his tenderness.

“As much as I love you. It’ll be all right, love, I won’t let this nightmare trouble you again.”

Emma sighed, wishing she could forget about it. “Killian… One of the reasons why I’ve spent hours thinking about it is that I doubt it is just a nightmare.”

He raised his eyebrows and lightly tilted his head. “What do you mean? Do you think the boy is truly your son?”

“I’ve spent hours trying to figure it out but I just don’t know. This is why I need your help.”

“If it is not a nightmare, what else could it be?”

“The second time I saw him, the boy told me we were in a place called Netherworld. He said it was because of the cursed sleep that I had these nightmares. Do you think he’s right?”

“So this place would exist and be part of the curse?” Killian asked.

Keeping her eyes locked on his, Emma thought about it. It sounded strange, but somehow made sense. “This would explain why I don’t have these nightmares when you’re with me.”

Again, Killian tilted his head, so she further explained her hypothesis.

“You broke the sleeping curse with a true love’s kiss. If these nightmares are part of the curse, maybe your embrace is enough to chase them away.” She gave him a smile, the first one since she had awaken, and leant her forehead against his. “I think I’ve told you already how soothing it is to be in your arms.”

The captain was seriously considering the issue, determined to figure out what these nightmares were exactly. “If the boy is right and you’re in this Netherworld place, what was he doing here?”

“He didn’t tell, he said he’d tell me when I find him, that he didn’t have time and had to tell me something.”

“What did he want to tell you?”

“I don’t know. I think I woke up right before he could tell me.” Emma tried to think but indeed couldn’t remember anything more. She searched Killian’s eyes again. “Do you believe in this Netherworld thing? Do you think I’m supposed to find him?”

“I’ve seen things only magic can explain, and this theory about nightmares being a part of the curse, I’d say that’s plausible; you started having these nightmares after the sleeping curse, right?”

Emma nodded. As usual, he was right. The theory was too much plausible to have been made up in her dreams. The boy was probably saying the truth. But then… She gazed into his eyes, looking for a solution, and Killian seemed to read her thoughts again.

“You’re not going to like it,” he said, “but perhaps you should try to go back there. The boy is the only one who can give us the answers we’re looking for.”

Emma sighed and pressed her face in his neck as he confirmed what she had been dreading: she couldn’t simply forget about the boy and had to see him again.

“Love, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

She looked up at him. “There’s no other way to get the answers, and I want to stop asking myself all those questions. But since you’re my dreamcatcher, I can’t stay in your arms.”

This was actually what was annoying her the most at the moment, and despite what she had just said, she didn’t move and stayed on top of him, gazing into his eyes.

“You’re quite good at knowing how I’m feeling. Can you stay with me for now, and leave me alone when you feel I’m falling asleep?”

“Of course, love.”

“And you can’t wake me up, you have to wait for me to wake up on my own, or I could have not enough time there.”

Killian nodded, though not liking the idea of having to watch her shuddering in her sleep without being allowed to do anything. Shifting to be both lying on their sides, Emma unwillingly tried to fall back asleep. She was afraid to go back there, afraid to see the boy again, afraid of what he might tell her. A part of her was still hoping all of this was only a nightmare she could forget about. Turning in his arms after several minutes, leaning back against him, she sighed.

“I can’t fall asleep.”

Until then trying not to interfere much, Killian pressed his lips on her neck and softly trailed his fingers along her arm. It worked because, by focusing on his touch, there was no place left for her thoughts. Finally, Killian felt her breathing steadying. Pressing his hand over her heart, he felt her heart rate slowing down. She was falling asleep, he knew he had to leave her alone. Surely he could stay a bit longer; if he got up too early, she might wake up. Unwilling to let her face this nightmare again, he needed to remind himself this was what she wanted to find the strength to get up. Not taking his eyes off of her, he stood next to the bed. He was tempted to sit by her side, but wondered whether she would feel his presence. Not willing to take the risk to make the plan fail, he stepped back. After a few minutes, she started to twist and turn.

“You’re here!” said the boy when Emma arrived in the room with the curtains on fire. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come back soon enough, I think I will wake up soon.”

Maybe it was because she had been prepared to see him again: having him standing in front of her wasn’t scaring her as much anymore.

“I have many questions.” So many that she actually didn’t know where to start: Emma wanted to know what he was doing here, or how he could have been waiting for her for so long in this room, but she thought of what he had told her the last time she had seen him. “There was something you wanted to tell me, what was it?”

“Yes, it’s about where we’ll meet.” At these words, Emma felt a lump in her throat. But the boy kept talking. “If you’re going back to the Enchanted Forest, you should sail through an archipelago soon. Stop at the first island which is on your path, I’ll be on the docks.”

“How do you know where we’re going?”

He glanced down at his hands.

“I don’t have time to explain it to you right now, I’m waking up!” Indeed, Emma could see the boy was becoming translucent. He looked up at her. “Remember, the first island of the archipelago!”

“But I don’t even know if there’s an archipelago on our way, or how long it’ll take us to get there!” Emma talked quite fast, seeing how translucent he now was.

“Just go there, I will find you!”

Emma didn’t have time to say anything before a gust of wind made her protect herself behind her arms. When she looked up, the boy wasn’t there anymore. She was alone, and the gust seemed to have revived the fire; until then limited to the curtains, the flames were now invading the room, getting closer and closer. Giving into panic, Emma glanced around, looking for a way out. Now would be the time to wake up, but it simply didn’t happen. She looked down at her hands, hoping to see them become translucent, but she was still as opaque as she could be. Almost completely circled by fire, she headed towards one corner of the room, and jumped backwards as a flame licked her wrist.

Watching her twist and turn was to Killian a real ordeal. He hadn’t been able to stay away from her very long, and had come to sit on the bed. Resisting the temptation to wake her up was even more difficult than he had expected, mostly because he knew holding her in his arms would be enough to stop the shudders, to soothe her and make her forget about this nightmare. He kept his eyes locked on her, waiting for the moment when she would wake up. But this moment didn’t seem to come, and she seemed to twist and turn more and more. Several times, he held out his hand but stopped himself before he would touch her. He heard a soft whimper and thought she was waking up, but she wasn’t. Something then caught his eye and he took her hand to look at it more closely.

“Emma!”

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips on her neck. The red blotches on her wrist could only be a burn, something he had not expected could be possible; no matter whether she had got enough time to get her answers or not, he couldn’t leave her in here any longer.

“Love, wake up.”

“Killian!”

Taking a deep breath, Emma immediately turned over to wrap her arms around his neck and made her lips crash against his. It didn’t take long for the kiss to carry her away, momentarily making her forget about the room on fire.


	3. Distractions

Breathless, Emma tugged at Killian’s lip before leaning her forehead against his. She thought again of what the kiss had made her forget about: her last trip to Netherworld. Though she had got some of the answers she was looking for, it had been stressful, especially in the end.

“I wasn’t waking up,” she said, still a bit breathless.

“That was my impression. I woke you up because I couldn’t wait any longer.”

Killian softly unwrapped her arms from around his neck and took her hand to look at the burn on her wrist.

“What’s that?” She was asking only by surprise that it was visible, because she remembered very well burning herself in Netherworld.

“That’s the evidence you’re having more than just nightmares. Come with me, we need to take care of that,” he said as he got up and helped pulling her up on her feet. “Does it hurt?”

Looking at her wrist, Emma considered his question. She could feel a prickle at the level of the burn, but she had not even been aware of it until Killian had showed it to her. “I’m fine.”

This didn’t seem to stop him: keeping her hand in his, he held her wrist under the cold water. Emma was staring at him, wondering whether she would ever get used to the way he was taking care of her. Lost in her thoughts, forgetting about everything she wanted to tell him, she remembered of this day when he had saved her from the Evil Queen, saving her from this tower where she had spent endless weeks wondering whether she would ever see him again; she remembered of how, having noticed she had cut her hand, he had wrapped it in a scarf which he had tied by using his teeth while staring up at her. Watching him taking care of her on this day, she had lost the thread of her thoughts.

“Love?” Killian asked, tilting his head.

Pulled out of her thoughts, Emma lightly shook her head. “Hmm?”

“You were staring at me with this dreamy look on your face,” he said on a teasing tone. The blush suddenly coating her cheeks caused a smirk to appear on his features. Still keeping her wrist under the cold water, Killian slipped his hooked arm in her back and closed the distance between them to kiss her cheek, before whispering in her ear, “Do you have any idea how adorable you are? I’d say I’m staying on my position: you’re the one who can’t handle it.”

Taking advantage of this sudden proximity, she pressed her face in his neck, hiding her smile from him: he was right, she couldn’t handle it, but never would she admit this.

“I was asking you about the lad: did you see him again?”

“Yes.” She kept her face pressed in his neck, enjoying his scent.

“What happened there? Did you get the answers you were looking for?”

Thinking of what the boy had told her, Emma quickly pressed a kiss in his neck before looking up at him. “Is there an archipelago on our way?”

“Aye, there is,” he said with an eyebrow raised, surprised by this sudden question. How could he forget about this archipelago? It was the one where he had been hoping to find her, on the second time the Evil Queen had taken her away from him; this archipelago he had spotted on his map, giving him this false hope he would need to sail for four weeks instead of six before seeing her again. “We should reach this archipelago in about a week and a half. Why?”

“The boy, Henry, he said there would be an archipelago on our way if we were going to the Enchanted Forest. How did he know that?”

“I don’t know. Did he tell you how he came to this Netherworld place?”

“No, he didn’t have much time, I saw him waking up. But he said he would be on the first island of the archipelago. He told me to go to this island and that, no matter how long it takes me, he’ll find me there.”

Hearing her own words scared her; she still wasn’t sure she wanted to meet him, she still wasn’t accepting the idea he was her son. Seeing the distress in her eyes, Killian glanced at her wrist and, deciding it had been under the cold water long enough, grabbed a towel and dried her hand.

“Come with me.”

Placing an arm in her back, he led her back to the quarters and spread a map on the table. Standing over it, with Emma standing by his side and keeping her eyes locked on him, he studied the map for only a few seconds before placing his finger somewhere in the ocean.

“This is approximately our actual position and this…” he said, trailing his finger over the map, “is the archipelago which is on our way. There, is the first island. I’d say we’re nine or ten days away.”

Emma looked more closely at the map. “Why would he be on this small island? Killian, do you really think we should go there? It makes no sense. Why would the baby I’ve given up be in this realm, on this island, and in Netherworld?”

“I wish I had these answers, love. But if there’s a chance he might be your son, don’t you want to meet him?”

Considering the idea of meeting him, Emma bit her lip as tears filled her eyes again, fear paralyzing her. When Killian pulled her in his embrace, a tear rolled down her cheek. “I can’t be a mother.”

“Here’s what we can do: let’s keep saying we’re heading to the Enchanted Forest. The archipelago is on our way. Like this, you don’t have to take a decision now, and if you decide you want to meet him, we can make a stop at this island. Does this plan sound better?”

Not leaving his arms, Emma nodded.

* * *

Though Killian had given her more than a week to take her decision, Emma had taken only one day before telling him she wanted to stop at this island. Until then, she had considered the idea of ignoring the boy’s existence, but doing so simply seemed impossible; she didn’t really feel like she had a choice: she had to gather her courage and stop at this island. Maybe there would be no one there, and she would be able to go back to what her life was before she had met him in Netherworld, to what it had been during these few days of happiness she had shared with Killian. None of the crew was aware about it: only Liam had been briefed about the nightmares caused by the sleeping curse and about the boy. Emma had then realized how alike his brother Liam could be; sitting by Killian’s side in the quarters, they had told him everything he needed to know and once again, she had been afraid of the reaction which might be caused by the revelation she had a child. But like his brother, Liam was at first surprised, then very accommodating; the idea of possibly welcoming a child on board didn’t seem to bother him. The only difference with Killian was that Liam wasn’t doing it for Emma, but for his brother: he was sticking to the idea he would do anything for him and support him whatever his plans were.

During the next days, Emma tried to keep herself busy, so that there was no room left in her head for the boy; or for the Evil Queen, since Emma still feared she might appear on board anytime. Killian was an invaluable help, gladly keeping her by his side all the time and teaching her everything a pirate should know. What Emma liked the most was sword-fighting. It required so much concentration that it was very efficient in keeping the boy away from her thoughts. Delighted to be told she was making progress, loving how proud of her he looked, she noticed he was also holding himself back less and less, making it more and more difficult for her to defeat or even disarm him, and letting her see in the meantime that his fighting skills were even better than what she had thought. When they were not working on her fighting skills, Killian was teaching Emma about sailing. He was explaining her how to hoist the sails depending on the direction and the speed of the wind. She could spend hours being in his arms while holding the wheel, talking about anything, or not talking at all and simply enjoying being together. Sometimes, she was also practicing her magic, trying to take off his hook again. But no matter how hard she tried or how many times Killian kissed her, all she managed to produce were weak flares, too feeble to move anything. When the night was falling, they generally went to sit on the railing to stargaze. Emma was able to recognize more and more constellations and there again, she could see this pride in the captain’s eyes. Though she still had many questions about the boy, Emma had decided she didn’t want to have other nightmares, and was waiting for Killian every night before going to bed. Their assumption had been right: his embrace was keeping her away from Netherworld.

Killian knew she was trying not to think of her son, but he also knew she couldn’t just pretend he didn’t exist. Regularly, he was checking on her, gazing into her eyes to see how she was feeling. The few times when she had seemed troubled, he had brought up the subject himself, asking her how she was feeling about it. And each time, she had found a way to change the subject of the conversation and avoid talking about the boy. It was only on the day before reaching the island that she stopped escaping: holding her in his arms while she was holding the wheel, Killian found her unusually quiet. Looking at her over her shoulder, he noticed how lost in her thoughts she seemed to be.

“Emma?”

“Killian…” Pulled out of her thoughts, she looked at him and flattened her lips to keep the tears away. “I’m scared.”

After all these days, she was finally admitting it to him. All these times when he had asked about it, she had run away. But she couldn’t keep doing this, not now that they were less than a day away from the island where she was supposed to meet the boy. Killian gazed into her eyes before leaving the wheel to Smee and taking her to the railing of the ship, making her sit on his lap.

“Tell me, love,” he said, taking advantage of how she had been the one bringing up the subject. “Why are you scared?”

“If he finds me… I won’t know what to do. I won’t even know what to say.”

“You will figure it out,” Killian said, but Emma seemed to ignore his words and went on.

“I don’t know why or how he’s here, I don’t know what he wants with me, but how am I supposed to give him anything? How am I supposed to take care of him, when no one has ever done that for me until I met you?”

“You are not alone anymore, I’ll stand by your side.” Again, his words seemed to go unnoticed.

“I don’t know what to do. I…” A tear rolled down her cheek and she looked down as she thought of what she was about to say. “I wish he didn’t exist.”

“Emma, I am sure you will handle it more easily than you think. The boy is probably an amazing lad. How could he not, when he’s your son?”

She looked up at him, biting her lip. “How could I deal with this, when I can’t even believe he is my son?”

Killian softly cupped her chin and looked into her eyes. “Be patient, it’ll take you some time to get used to the idea he is your son, this is totally normal. I am not saying it’ll be easy, but I’ll stand by your side. We will find a way, you will succeed.”

“How can you always be so confident when it comes to me?”

“I have yet to see you fail.”

Not finding anything to reply, Emma simply stared at him, thinking she would never stop being amazed by the amount of faith he was putting on her. She saw a tender smile appear on his lips.

“Come with me, I know what we can do,” he said.

Not waiting for her to do or even say anything, he stood up and took her hand before leading her to the bow of the ship.

“What are we doing here?”

“You’ll see. Stand up there.” He indicated the step at the forwardmost part of the ship.

Considering the height of the step and realizing the railing wouldn’t even reach the level of her knees, she looked back at him for a confirmation, and he tilted his head to give her a do-you-really-think-I’d-tell-you-to-do-this-if-it-wasn’t-safe kind of look. She smiled and climbed the step, which was high enough to allow her seeing above the figurehead. Killian followed and, placing his feet between hers, crossed his arms on her stomach. Her hands covered his and a sigh of delight escaped her as she leant back against him. The view of the ocean reflecting the setting sun, the sound of the waves crashing against the hull below them, the feeling of the wind caressing her face and making her hair float behind her, the touch of his cheek pressed against hers and of his arms around her; everything was perfect.

“What are you thinking about?” Killian inquired.

“About how beautiful the ocean is.” She turned her head to look at him. “And about how wonderful it feels like to be here.”

“Very good.” He said while softly brushing a blonde curl behind her ear. “Now, how do you feel?”

“In love with you.”

Emma turned over in his embrace, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. The way he passionately replied left her breathless. Leaning her forehead against his, she kept her eyes closed, taking her time to catch her breath.

“Is this why you brought me here?” She finally asked, looking up at him. “To make me feel better?”

Killian nodded. “Years ago, when we started sailing with Liam, I was still haunted by my own memories, by how my brother and I had found ourselves orphans. And I was able to purge them on the prow of the ship, riding the ocean’s waves. I hoped it might do the same to you, I hoped standing here might soothe you.”

“It did. But, Killian… Trying to keep myself distracted from my own thoughts is what I’ve done all week, but I can’t forget about him.”

“I’d worry if you could. Love, you need to understand that it’s normal to be afraid. You don’t have to feel bad because you’re fearing to meet your boy. I guess this fear won’t even linger and will disappear when you meet him.” Looking into her eyes, he tenderly cupped her cheek. “There is a second thing that you need to know: you are not alone. I will stand by you, and I promise you it’ll be all right.”

Despite the fear that the idea of meeting the boy was inspiring her, Emma was at the moment mostly drowning in their love, making eyes with him, holding onto the collar of his coat.

“Are you truly perfect, or is there any flaw hidden somewhere that I have yet to find?” she asked with a dreamy voice, causing him to smirk.

“I will let you decide about this.”

At the same time, they both pulled each other and their lips met again, a soft moan escaping Emma. One of her hands disappeared in his hair and her other one went to rest in his back, while the passion of the kiss consumed her. Feeling his hand trail down her thigh, she lifted her leg up to his hip. Though lost in the kiss, she was somehow aware they didn’t have the privacy she was wishing for.

“Killian… Quarters,” she panted before his lips greedily captured hers again.

He didn’t need to be told twice; his hook trailing down her thigh, he scooped her up and carried her below deck, their lips barely pulling apart, both totally unaware of the look Smee gave them as he realized he might have to stay behind the wheel longer than he had planned. Entering their quarters, Killian locked the door behind them.

* * *

Like the first time when they had shared the night so intimately, Emma woke up with her head resting over his chest, his arm in her back, no layer of clothes separating them. Her breath caught as she realized only a few more hours were required to reach the island. She focused on Killian instead to distract herself, playing with his chest hair. Lifting her head, she shifted up on top of him and softly pressed her lips on his, smiling as he opened his eyes.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, love.” His fingers reached for her cheek and she leant into his touch. “How are you feeling?”

She shrugged. “Not ready. But as long as you’re here, I’m fine.”

“And I don’t intend to go anywhere you’re not.”

She gave him a smile but slowly, it faded away. “How much time do you think we have left before reaching the island?”

“All morning. If the Jolly Roger sailed during the night as it was planned, we should arrive in the early afternoon.”

Emma looked up at the porthole and, out of curiosity, threw the blanket away and got up. Going to the back of the quarters, she craned her neck and tiptoed, trying to see if there was any island visible on the horizon in front of them. But she couldn’t see anything. Noticing how Killian was looking at her put the smile back on her face while a soft blush coated her cheeks.

“I can see you, not taking your eyes off of me,” she teased, using the exact same words he had used when she had been staring at him dressing up after their first night together.

With a crooked smile, he stole her own words. “Why would I deprive myself of such a view?”

She giggled and asked while walking back to him, “Do you need to be on deck?”

“Not in the next couple hours.”

“Good.”

She straddled him and lay down on top of him, tenderly kissing his lips before shifting down to rest her head over his heart, her hand on his biceps. Focusing on his fingers wandering over her back, her breathing slowed down as she let go of the fear which had taken hold of her at her waking. But it was not enough to stop her thoughts; she couldn’t stop thinking of the boy that each second was taking her closer to. Not knowing how far they were from the island finally turned out to be a problem to her and in the end, staying in the quarters didn’t prove to be what she wanted.

“Killian?” She lifted up her head. “I need to know where this island is. Can we go on deck?”

“Of course, love.”

With a smile, she pecked his lips and got up again. Gathering their clothes scattered on the floor, they dressed up. Killian kissed Emma’s cheek as he walked past her.

“Ready, love?”

“Yes, I am. But you’re not.” Placing a hand on his shoulder, she reached for his hair and tiptoed to get a better view as she tried to rearrange the messy strands; too much messy to look innocent or to leave any doubt about their nocturnal activities. Deciding she had flattened his hair too much, she ruffled it again. She took a small step back to look at him and a satisfied smile appeared on her lips. “Now, you’re ready.”

“Am I to your taste, now?” He asked with a smirk.

“You always are.”

He pecked her lips and grabbed her hand before leading her on deck. Her smile faded away and her fingers tightened around his as she saw the island in front of them. Other islands of the archipelago were visible on the horizon, but the first one was closer to them than she had expected.

“It’ll be alright, love.”

“What am I going to tell him? I don’t know what he wants with me, what will happen if he really wants to come with us?”

Killian cupped her cheek and locked his eyes on hers. “Love, we already discussed this. There is no need to dread the future, we will find a way to handle this. You have to live in the here and now, and the only thing that matters now is that you’re going to meet your son.”

“If he’s here. How will he know we’re coming now?”

“I don’t know, love.”

They went to sit on the railing, watching the island getting closer and closer. Killian repeating they would find a way together and the way he was holding her against him helped soothing her.

“How are you feeling, Miss Swan?” asked Liam, coming to check on her.

She looked up at him and sighed softly before replying. “As good as someone who is about to meet the child they have given up can feel, I guess.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”

“Thanks, Liam,” Emma said before locking her eyes on the island again.

He nodded at his brother, confirming he was ready to help with anything, before going back to the wheel. Leaning her head on his shoulder, silence blanketed them.

“I know you said we would face all of this together and I want you to stay close to me but, when we arrive, can I have a one-to-one discussion with him?”

“Is this what you want?”

“Yes.”

It was because of her that they were here. To her, Killian didn’t deserve to be involved in this. It was her duty to talk to the boy.

“Alright,” he said, just wanting to make things for her as easy as he could. “How about I stay with you until we find him, and then stay a bit behind while you talk to him; far enough to give you some privacy, but close enough to be there if you need me?”

“This sounds perfect.” She quickly pressed a kiss on his cheekbone. “Thank you.”

The closer they were to the island, the faster it seemed to come nearer to them, and the more tense she was. Killian asked her whether she wanted the ship to stop, to give her some more time to get ready, but she refused, knowing that having more time wouldn’t help. Finally, they reached land. The docks were deserted. The abandoned warehouse and the few neglected houses were giving no hint of any human presence.

“What would he be doing here? There’s no one.” asked Emma, looking around.

“Perhaps he’s hiding in one of these habitations.” Taking her hand in his, he led her to the docks. “Ahoy! Is anyone here?”

They looked around, but there seemed to be no one there.

“There’s no one here,” Emma said, feeling uneasy. One of her hypotheses about the nightmares resurfaced, a hypothesis she had never mentioned and had tried to forget; fear turned her blood to ice and she pulled on his hand, willing to lead him back on deck. “Killian, we need to leave, what if this is all a trap? What if she tampered with my mind to make us come here?”

It was becoming more and more obvious to Emma that the boy wasn’t real, that it had only been a tool for the Evil Queen to make them come to this deserted island. Considering the idea, Killian followed her towards the ship and, still on the docks, addressed the crew.

“All hands prepare to set sail, now!”

“No, wait!”

Emma jumped as she heard the voice and Killian turned around to look back at the boy.

“Is that him?” he asked her, his voice calm again.

“Yes.” She felt a lump in her throat as she stared at the boy who was standing on the docks, looking exactly like the one she had seen in Netherworld. “Give me a minute.”

She let go of Killian’s hand and walked to the boy, who gave her a bright smile.

“I told you I would find you!”


	4. Turnover

Despite all the questions she wanted to ask him, Emma was trying her best to remain calm. “What are you doing here all alone? Where are your parents?”

“I came here to find you, I don’t have parents. I just have a mom, and she’s… evil.”

His last word made Emma open wide eyes and she looked around, checking whether they were still alone. She saw Killian looking alert, with his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to fight if that was needed. She caught his eye and nodded, assuring him it was all right; the boy couldn’t mean what she thought he meant.

“Evil. That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?”

“She is,” he said. Emma had a knot in her stomach. “She doesn’t love me; she only pretends to. You should know more than anyone.”

“Why’s that?” She asked without being sure she wanted to hear the answer.

“Because you know her. The Evil Queen.” Hearing the words she had been dreading to hear, Emma stepped back. The boy’s smile faded away. “Please don’t let me go back there!”

“What do you want with me?” Emma asked, glancing around again. “Does she know you’re here? Is this all a trap?”

“No, I am on your side, because I am _your_ son. She doesn’t know anything. I will explain everything to you. Just let me come aboard, it is not safe here.”

“No place is safe,” Emma replied bluntly, not ready to let him come on board so easily.

“The ship is, Rumplestitskin cast a protection spell over it.”

“You know Rumplestitskin?” She opened wide eyes again. “And what do you mean with protection spell?”

“A spell to hide the ship, so that no one can see it.”

He seemed convinced by his own words, but Emma turned around to glance at the ship, and turned to the boy again. “I can see it, it’s just there.”

“But I can’t. You can only because you were aboard when he cast the spell. But I don’t have time to explain now, please let me come on board.”

“I… Just wait here.”

Emma went back to Killian, who still had his hand on the hilt of his sword. The boy started to follow her but stopped midway.

“Are you alright, love?”

“I don’t know. I think we should go. He wants to come on board, but I don’t know if we can trust him. Killian, he’s her son; the Evil Queen’s son! He says she doesn’t know about our encounter but how can I be sure? He also knows the Dark One and says he has cast a protection spell over the ship. This all sounds crazy, how can I know he’s telling the truth?”

“Try using your superpower, see if he’s lying,” Killian suggested, keeping a cool head. She gazed into his eyes, hoping to find a solution there.

“He looks sure about what he’s saying, but just because he believes something doesn’t make it true.”

“Perhaps you should give him a chance.”

“We have to go, and leave him here.” She covered his hand with hers, ready to pull him back on board.

“Love, if you do this, doubts and regrets will torment you for years. You won’t ever forgive yourself.”

“But what if this is all a trap?”

“Can I talk to him?” he asked.

Emma nodded and Killian gestured the boy to join them. A bright smile back on his lips, Henry walked fast, preventing himself from running. He stopped in front of them and glanced at the hook before looking up at Killian with some kind of admiring look.

“Lad, you said the Evil Queen, who is your mother, doesn’t know you’re here, and that the ship is under a protection spell?”

“That’s right!”

“And now you want to come on board. Why?” Killian asked.

The boy turned to Emma. “Because I’m your son, and I want to be with you.”

Killian glanced at her, who was staring at the boy while feeling this lump in her throat even more than before. “Give us a few seconds, lad.”

“Sure.”

Killian pulled her a few steps away. “Love, I’d say there’s nothing wrong with the lad, he seems honest to me. You know what I think we should do, but it has to be your choice.”

Gazing into his eyes, still looking for answers, Emma sighed. “I don’t trust him, but I trust you.”

She pecked his lips and turned to the boy. Killian was right: she couldn’t see anything wrong with him. And everything he had said had sounded true to her; not once she had felt like he was lying. She cracked a smile.

“Alright, kid. You’re coming with us.”

“Yeah!”

Her smile vanished from her features as soon as she was out of their sights, climbing up the steps to the deck. She was feeling like the lump in her throat was so large that she might choke on it anytime. The boy followed her, amazement settling on his features when the ship appeared to him as he placed his foot on the first step. Killian brought up the rear.

“To your stations, let’s sail away!” Killian said once he was on deck, going to stand by Emma’s side and softly taking her hand in his, his thumb brushing the back of her hand. “Welcome aboard, lad!”

“Awesome!” he said, watching the sailors being active. “I’m on Captain Hook’s ship!”

Emma’s hold tightened around the pirate’s fingers, the lump in her throat threatening to choke her.

“Captain Hook?” Killian smirked, an eyebrow raised. The boy locked his eyes on him.

“That’s how they’ve taken to call you back there in the Enchanted Forest.”

Emma’s hold tightened more, the presence of the boy making her feel nothing but uncomfortable; which didn’t seem to be the case for Killian.

“Quite a colorful moniker!” Rather amused by this nickname, he kept massaging Emma’s back of her hand, trying to make her see everything was alright. “So you’ve heard of me?”

“Of course! Everyone knows you as the one who saved mum twice from the Evil Queen.”

Hearing him call her ‘mum’ made her feel like she needed to sit down, to be on her own for a little while, but she didn’t want to look weak in front of him. In the meantime, feeling how uneasy she was, Killian was willing to pull her in one of those embraces which seemed to soothe her so easily, to kiss her and free her of her burden, but he felt like he couldn’t do that in front of her son. Taking his hand back, he passed his arm in her back and reached for her other hand, in the meantime pulling her closer to him. The boy, however, looked like he was the happiest child: his smile was still brightening his features and he kept looking at Killian admiringly.

“Everyone knows you both as heroes.”

“Hear that, love?” Killian asked with a smile, giving her a sidelong glance and pulling her closer against him. “We’re known as heroes!”

He was trying to cheer her up, but she kept staring at her son. Meanwhile, the boy kept his eyes locked on Killian and, only when he caught his eye again, asked his question.

“Are you my dad?”

“Kid.” The word escaped her on a rather reproving tone while she squeezed Killian’s hand. Though still not considering the boy standing in front of her as her son, it was because of her that he was here, and thus she was feeling responsible for him and for whatever he might do or say. Until then remaining silent, the only thing she hadn’t wanted was for Killian to feel embarrassed because of him, and this had been the one question too many. But the captain was fine and tried to let her know by rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

“I’m not,” Killian simply replied.

Wondering how he was staying so calm, Emma then seemed to notice a touch of disappointment settling on the kid’s features when he heard the answer. When he turned to her, he looked like he was stopping himself from asking all the questions which he seemed to have. But he wasn’t the only one to have many questions.

“Alright, kid,” Emma repressed a sigh, gathering her courage to talk to him. “I think there are many things you need to explain.”

But he didn’t have time to say anything, since their attention was drawn to a sailor talking loudly while looking into their direction.

“Haven’t we been through enough already by having her on board?” He asked, indicating Emma. “And now, we have to welcome him as well?”

Liam, who was talking to two other men nearby, came to him. “What’s this about?”

“I’ve seen him before,” replied the sailor, not taking his eyes off of them. “He’s the Evil Queen’s son!”

“Do I need to remind you what happens to those who discuss the captain’s orders?” Killian asked, his jaw clenched.

“No, captain.”

The sailor cast a glance at Emma and her son before looking down and going back to his duties. Emma knew what Killian was referring to: when she had come back aboard after being locked up in that tower for weeks, she had noticed the new pirate look wasn’t the only change; there had also been a reduction of the crew. She had never seen again all those who had showed any sign of reluctance to her coming on board. When she had asked him about it, he had reassured her by saying he had showed mercy and hadn’t made them walk the plank as they would have deserved, but had simply dismissed them when they were on land.

“There shouldn’t be any more trouble. I’ve warned all of our sailors about the presence of our new guest, and they reacted quite well,” Liam said, pulling Emma out of her thoughts.

Killian nodded approvingly and indicated him to come closer. “You haven’t been formally introduced. Lad, this is my brother, Liam. Liam, this is Henry, the new member of our crew.”

“Captain Hook’s brother? Awesome!” he said, once again looking like he was the happiest boy.

“Captain Hook?” asked Liam turning to his brother, amused.

“Aye, my new moniker,” he said with a smirk. “Rather fancy, don’t you think?”

Not knowing how to handle the situation, Emma had remained quiet, holding onto Killian’s hand, watching the two brothers and the boy she didn’t manage to consider as his son. Killian looked down at him.

“Lad, I reckon you have quite a tale to tell.” He looked up at his brother. “The quarters will be the best. Can you lead him there?”

As soon as they left, Killian faced Emma, cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes.

“I’m being terrible,” she sighed.

“Love, don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“But what if I truly can’t be a mother? I don’t even know what to say to him.”

“Give yourself some time.”

“I’m looking at him and all I see is a stranger. I don’t consider him as my son.”

“Emma, do you remember what I told you yesterday? It’ll require some time before you get used to the idea he’s your son. Be patient and everything will be alright.”

Leaning into his touch and covering his hand with hers, she softly sighed. “Do you really think so?”

“I know so. Now, how do you feel about going to the quarters to talk to him?”

“I will be fine,” she said, trying to convince herself in the meantime.

With a proud smile, his fingers slipped in her hair and he pulled her to him for a kiss. His lips trailed across her cheek and pressed on her neck while he hugged her for a moment.

“You’re amazing, don’t you forget it,” he whispered in her ear. Pulling back to look into her eyes with a tender smile, he made sure she was alright, before he turned to his sailors. “Smee! Liam and I will be in my quarters. You’re responsible of reporting me whatever goes wrong on deck.”

Lacing his fingers with Emma’s, they both went below deck to find Liam and Henry in the middle of a discussion.

“I can assure you she doesn’t know,” said Henry, addressing Liam who was sitting by his side. “Or maybe she knows now, but it’s too late, she can’t find me, because the ship is protected.”

“Tell us more about this, lad. This protection spell,” said Killian while closing the door and going to sit with Emma on the two chairs facing them. “You said the Dark One cast it over the ship. How is it working?”

“Well, I can’t explain exactly how magic works but I know that, with this spell, no one can find or even see the ship, except those who were aboard when the spell was cast. That’s why you could still see it when you were on the docks. But I couldn’t. I saw it only when I put my foot on the first step.”

“Why would the Dark One do that?” asked Emma, trying her best to stay calm. There were so many questions she wanted to ask that it was difficult to hold herself back.

“To protect you.”

“Why? Kid, that makes no sense, why would he do that?”

Henry shrugged. “I think he wants to protect you from Regina.”

“Regina?” asked Liam.

“The Evil Queen. I don’t know what’s between her and Rumplestitskin but they don’t get on very well. Maybe he just decided to be on your side, and protected you from her.”

“Kid, how do you know about all of this? And how do you know I am…” Emma struggled with words. “How do you know you’re my son?”

Emma gulped, still not considering this fact as true. Seeing how uneasy she was feeling, Killian softly placed his hand on her thigh under the table. Momentarily distracted, she took a breath and covered his hand with hers, before focusing back on the boy.

“He told me. I knew I had been adopted: she couldn’t be my real mum, we’re too much different; I believed my mum was someone better than her. Rumplestitskin then told me you were my mum, and he helped me find you.”

“But if she and the Dark One hate each other, why did she let him spend so much time with you?” Emma was trying to arrange all the elements into a plausible story, a story which would wipe out any suspicion that all of this was a trap. But she didn’t manage to create such a story. “Kid, that makes no sense.”

“You know, I have a name? It’s Henry. Rumplestitskin has always been there to watch over me and… She doesn’t know I sometimes see him without her. He helped me find you, because he knew I wanted to be with you.”

Henry turned to Killian, who was the one with the most welcoming expression; while Liam was frowning, obviously confused by all of this, Emma was staring at him, trying to detect any hint of lie in his words.

“How did you find Emma, in this Netherworld place?” asked Killian.

“This was something I meant to ask.” Emma was putting much effort into keeping her voice soft. Killian brushed her thigh with his thumb, encouraging her to keep going like this. “At first I thought these were nightmares. Were you really there?”

“Yes,” the boy replied, flashing her a smile. “All of this was real.”

“Henry,” she made the effort to call him by his name, “do you remember what you told me there? You said I was visiting this place because of the sleeping curse.”

“That’s right,” he confirmed, smiling at her.

“Then, how did _you_ happen to be there? Did she put you under a sleeping curse as well?” Her tone of voice had switched from suspicious to worried; worried that giving him up for adoption had led him to grow up with a mistreating Evil Queen as a mother.

“No, she didn’t. I… It’s complicated, it might take a while.”

“If that’s a tale you’re willing to share, lad, take all the time you need.”

“Well, it happened a few years ago, when I was old enough to realize she wasn’t as good as she pretended to be. I wanted her to be good, but she wouldn’t listen to me. When I told her she was bad to people, she asked what I was talking about. She played the innocent. Then, she said that everything she was doing, she was doing it for me, so that we could have a good life. When I told her she was the Evil Queen, she replied she was my mother, so I asked her to prove it: I told her to stop hurting everyone. But she said she couldn’t do that.”

“Lad, has she ever hurt you?”

Emma looked at Killian, surprised by how protective he had just sounded, before turning to Henry again.

“No, not me. But everyone else around. She denied she was being bad, but I had been investigating on my own. I knew what she had done. And I knew what her current plans were: she had invited someone for dinner, for sure her next victim, and had prepared the dessert herself. We have a cook, she usually never goes to the kitchen. What she didn’t know was that I was aware about all of this, and that I was hiding in my back the turnover she had prepared. My guess was that she had used some of her poisoned apples, but the only way to be sure was to try it. When I told her to stop hurting everyone and she said she couldn’t, I said I had to do this. She didn’t know what I was talking about until she saw me taking a bite of the turnover. I didn’t know what it’d do to me, but I didn’t care; if she didn’t want to be good, I didn’t want to keep living with her as my mother. She didn’t have time to stop me: I fell asleep.”

“Kid, that was reckless,” Emma commented.

“Very daring,” added Liam. “Very few people are brave enough to go so far in order to prove a point.”

“How did you wake up?” asked Killian. “Is there something else than the true love’s kiss?”

“No.” At this moment, Henry looked down at his hands. “She pulled me out of this cursed sleep with a simple kiss on the cheek.”

Emma opened wide eyes; the thought this woman who had locked her up in a tower for weeks and put her under a cursed sleep, who had ripped out hearts and who was regaled by others’ suffering, was able to love was unbelievable.

“So that’s how you got an access to Netherworld,” said Killian, keeping track of the conversation.

“Yes. I’ve started having those nightmares. One morning, I woke up with a burn on my arm. That’s when she decided to take me to Rumplestitskin. Because of course, she knows how to cast a curse, but she never cared about the side effects; until I was the one suffering from them. Rumplestitskin couldn’t stop the nightmares, but he gave me this.” Henry looked down and pulled out a necklace from under his shirt. “With this necklace, I am able to control what I’m doing there. I’ve used it for months. Every night, I was going back to Netherworld. Being in control made the trips there less scary. But then, Rumplestitskin came back with something else: this ring.”

Henry held out his right hand above the table to show the three of them the signet ring inlaid with a red stone.

“Hey, lad, look at this,” Killian said, showing Henry his own hand. “I almost have the same one.”

“But mine is magic,” he replied instantly, looking at the pirate with a playful smirk.

“Point taken, mine is not.”

Killian placed his hand back on Emma’s thigh. All he wanted was for both her and her son to feel comfortable and, considering the smile on the boy’s face, at least one of them did.

“With this ring,” Henry went on with his story, “I didn’t need to go back to Netherworld. I could sleep without having those nightmares.”

“Wow, this ring stops the nightmares?” asked Emma and the boy nodded. Putting all the elements together, she frowned, and put much effort again in keeping her voice soft as she asked, “Why were you in Netherworld just a few days ago, then?”

“The nightmares come back if I remove the ring. That’s the last part of this story, I guess. Rumplestitskin had told me you were living in another realm but that, someday, you’d come here. I asked if I could meet you in your realm, but he said it would be complicated and dangerous, so I’ve been waiting. Then, I’ve heard of you at the castle. All I wanted was to find you, but escaping wasn’t so easy. Rumplestitskin said we had to wait for the right moment. And this right moment happened days ago. His plan was genius! He said that, since you had been under a sleeping curse, you would probably travel to Netherworld in your sleep. So I took off my ring. And I found you there,” he said with a smile which she was unable to give him back. “I knew what I had to tell you: Rumplestitskin told me you were likely to come back to the Enchanted Forest and that, from the place where you were before he cast the protection spell, an archipelago was on your way. Once I had told you about the island, Rumplestitskin said he would watch this place: because of the spell, he couldn’t know where you were, but as soon as you walked on the docks, he was able to see you. He appeared in my room to say that it was time, that you were on the island, and he sent me there. That’s how I found you.”

Henry finished his story with his eyes locked on Emma.

“Quite a tale you had there!” commented Liam.

“And now you’re one of us!” said Killian on a welcoming tone. “How about we make you visit your new place?”

“Yeah!”

Henry smiled brightly and Killian led the three of them out of the quarters. While keeping Emma’s hand in his, he showed the boy the important parts of the ship. While Liam sometimes added a few comments to Killian’s explanations, Emma remained silent, still trying to get used to the idea he was her son, the baby she had given up for adoption. Now that he had told his story about how he had found her, now that she knew more about him, she had even more questions.

“How do you control these?” asked Henry when they were on deck.

“The sails?” Killian asked after following his eyes. A crooked smile tugged at his lips. “I tell you what, lad: if you’re interested in sailing, we’ll teach you!”

“Awesome!”

“But right now, there is more important to be done. We have yet to find you a place to get your rest. In the meantime, feel free to go wherever you want. Everything which is on this ship, you are free to use. And if anyone tells you anything, tell them you have the captain’s permission.”

With a tilt of the head, Killian indicated him the rest of the ship and, with a bright smile, Henry left. Liam departed as well, going back to his duties.

“How do you do that?” asked Emma.

“How do I do what?” Watching Henry go to the stern of the ship, Killian then turned to Emma.

“How are you so good with him when I’m being so bad?”

“Love, you’ve been amazing with him.”

“That’s not true. How could I be amazing when I don’t even know what to say to him?”

Killian softly cupped her cheek and kept looking into her eyes.

“How about you start seeing the positive aspects instead of focusing on the bad ones?” Seeing her look of confusion, he went on. “Think of how, at first, you were suspicious of every word he was saying, which I totally understand, and of how, as he was telling his story, you softened.”

“I was trying to keep my voice soft because I found no hint of a lie in everything he had said. And I realized it was surely not easy for him either.”

“And how would you call that? Love, can’t you see? You’re totally proving my point: you’ve just met him, and you’re already learning how to trust him, and caring about his well-being.” Softly pulling her to him, he whispered in her ear. “You are amazing, and nothing you can say will convince me you’re not.”

“What will happen now? You heard what he said: she woke him up from that cursed sleep. It means that she truly loves him, even if he thinks she’s only pretending to. And now, he’s with us. She will try to get him back. Killian, are you sure you want to have him on board? We’re even more in danger now that he’s here.”

“Love, I won’t make your boy leave the ship just because that’s the safe option. With this protection spell, it seems like, as long as we keep sailing, she can’t find us.” His hand slipped in her neck and he leant his forehead against hers. “We will find a way.”


	5. Golden Flower

Forehead against forehead, Emma kept her eyes closed, focusing on the touch of his fingers on her neck, or on his breath she was feeling softly fluttering against her lips. But though willing to get lost in this world belonging only to the both of them, she was unable to stop herself from thinking of the boy.

“Killian, we need to find him a place to sleep. I know he said he wouldn’t mind being in the crew’s cabin but…” She pulled back and looked up at him. “Some of the sailors may not approve of him, he won’t feel welcome there.”

A smile tugged at Killian’s lips. “And here you are, again caring about his well-being. Don’t think ever again you’re not being good with him.”

Wrapping his arms around her neck, he kissed her cheek. The tenderness of his move was enough to make her lose track of the conversation and she simply melted in his arms for a moment, before remembering what they were talking about.

“What do you think about it? Where do you think he should sleep?”

“I don’t know, love. Do you have anything in mind other than in the crew’s cabin?”

“Maybe in our quarters?”

“Aye, he could, but where do you want him to sleep?” A smirk appeared on his features. “There’s only one bed there and do I have to remind you how tight we need to be to both fit in it?”

Emma giggled and pecked his lips. “Having to cuddle up to my devilishly handsome pirate at night is something I’ll never complain about.”

“I wouldn’t want a larger bed.” Killian chuckled and kissed her more passionately. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said with a bright smile, her forehead leaning against his. “And you keep making me lose the thread.”

“Sorry?” he asked, not sounding the least bit sorry. Unable to hide his amusement, he chuckled again. “I was trying to know where you wanted the boy to sleep.”

“Oh, yes. I was thinking maybe we could take a bunk in the crew’s cabin and place it on the floor in our quarters? It won’t be much comfortable but at least he’s not with the sailors.”

“It wouldn’t be less comfortable than the same bunk in the crew’s cabin. But how about we go and discuss this with him?”

“Yes, let’s do that. But wait!”

Killian raised an eyebrow but didn’t have much time to wonder what she was up to: grabbing the collar of his coat, she pulled him to her and her lips crashed against his. His hooked arm went behind her back while his fingers went through her hair, his lips molding hers until they were both breathless. Lifting his head, he watched her softly passing her tongue on her lip. Her eyes fluttered open.

“Now, we can go,” she said with a smile.

Not seeing the boy on deck, Killian laced his fingers with hers and led her below deck. They peered into the different rooms they passed and found him in the captain’s quarters, sitting on the chair Killian was usually using. Henry looked up when they entered, and Emma noticed what was in his hands.

“You like books too?” she asked.

“Yeah!”

The boy gave her a bright smile while Killian raised an interested eyebrow and looked at her. Emma didn’t need any word to know what he meant and nodded.

“Lad, I’m leaving you with your mum for a moment.”

He kissed her cheek and, taking advantage of this common trait they had just found, left the two of them and went to see his brother.

“Is that a book of astronomy?” asked Emma, gathering her courage to sit down on the chair beside him.

“Yes. I’ve never had a book about the stars before, not like this one.”

“Do you have a lot of books, at the castle?”

“I have an entire bookshelf in my room, even larger than this one,” he said, indicating the one behind him. Emma was impressed; impressed that, though he was only ten, he already looked so mature. Noticing her expression, the boy smiled. “I can’t get out of the castle a lot. Reading is my favorite pastime, books of adventure are my favorites.”

“Are you sure this is what you really want, to come aboard this ship?”

Henry’s smile faded away. “Are you asking this because you don’t want me here?”

“No, it’s not what I meant,” Emma quickly corrected herself, feeling sorry he had misunderstood her. “What I meant is that life here will be very different from the life you had at the castle. You won’t have a room as comfortable, or all these books you had.”

“I’ve read all the books I have already. I'm done reading about heroes. I want to be one. You and Killian, you are heroes. And you are my mum. I want to be with you.”

Emma opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out as she didn’t know what to say. His words made her feel uneasy again, and it was with relief that she saw the two brothers come back.

“Lad, you now have a cabin!” announced Killian.

“Which one is it?” asked Henry, smiling again.

“Mine,” answered Liam, to Emma’s surprise.

“You’re a guest of honor, lad, we can’t let you settle in the crew’s cabin.”

“Where will you go?” the boy asked Liam.

“If you don’t mind, we’ll share the cabin. But at night, I’ll be on deck, so you will have the whole cabin to yourself to sleep.”

“How does this sound, lad?”

“Awesome!” Henry answered with a bright smile while Killian winked at Emma, who had seemed surprised during the whole exchange.

“How about you come with me? I’ll show you your new place.”

Henry left with Liam, leaving Killian and Emma on their own.

“Let me guess: this was your idea?”

“Perhaps,” said Killian with a smirk which was leaving no doubt on the question.

“And Liam agrees with that?”

“Love,” he said, closing the distance between them and cupping her cheek, looking into her eyes with his head tilted on the side. “It may be my idea, but I didn’t command my brother. I only asked. There is no place in our quarters, and as he said, since the boy will be likely to have a sleep schedule similar to ours, he will be sleeping while Liam is on deck.”

“Thank you,” she said, tilting her head to kiss his palm.

Though his words were true, Killian had been hiding his main reason for this decision: it was for her that he had asked his brother. Even if she had been the one offering to welcome the boy in their quarters, he knew her well enough to know that she sometimes needed to spend some time on her own. He guessed that her son coming into her life was likely to make her feel like this; all he knew was that welcoming the boy into their quarters would deprive her of this personal space she could need and would make her feel even worse.

* * *

They spent the rest of the day on deck. Henry seemed to have endless questions to ask the two brothers about sailing. Watching him interacting with Killian or Liam or the both of them, Emma took some time to try and get used to the idea she was now reunited with her son.

But this wasn’t so easy. The few times when she found herself alone with him, she felt awkward. She could feel that he was holding himself back from asking all the questions he had. On her side, Emma dreaded the questions he might have and didn’t encourage him to ask them. She was often staring at him, but whenever she caught his eye, she looked away. She didn’t know either what to tell him; though curious about his life, she feared that hearing what he would say about his life with the Evil Queen would make her feel even more guilty for giving him up for adoption, and she wasn’t ready for this.

Emma couldn’t help but feel relieved when Henry left for his cabin for the night. When she thought of how it had been on the very morning that she had landed on this island and met him, she realized it had been a very long day. Lying on her side, on the bed, she was gazing at the man she loved, the one she had been lying to all this time, hiding this part of her past from him. Though he had told her it was all right, she couldn’t stop blaming herself for this. Killian was silently looking into her eyes with a tender smile on his lips, trying to figure out what she was thinking about. Eventually, she sighed.

“I should have told you, I shouldn’t have kept it from you,” she said, the guilt obvious in her eyes and in her voice.

“My love, you don’t have to worry about this, I can understand, there are some topics of the past we prefer to avoid discussing. Anything you want to share, you can tell me on your own time.”

Again, she sighed. “It’s just that, every time I see him, he’s reminding me of my past, of how I did to him exactly what my parents did to me: I abandoned him. Killian, when I decided to stay here, I thought I would be able to start again. I was with you and only you, and life was good. But now he’s here and…”

“It’s not going to change anything between us,” he finished her sentence, cupping her cheek to look her in the eyes. “Emma, whatever happened in your past, I love you. What I’m trying to say is that I know how it feels to have regrets and wonder, ‘what if…’ But don’t do that to yourself, love, it won’t lead you anywhere. Accept your past, and embrace it, because it made of you who you are today: the woman I love. Accept your past and focus on the present instead: you may have abandoned him, but you have your son, now.”

“And you.”

“Aye, me. And I, you.”

Yielding to his tenderness, Emma shifted to close the distance between them and kissed him. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she kept leaning against him and smiled against his lips when he found himself on his back, with her on top of him. She then trailed her lips along his jawline and pressed a kiss in his neck, one hand slipping in his neck, the other one going down his arm and lacing her fingers with his while he wrapped an arm around her. Silence blanketed them and his embrace was so comfortable that she felt like she could fall asleep anytime.

“Who is his father?”

Killian had been curious about it for days, but had not dared to ask the question. He had obviously failed at using the casual tone he had intended to use; instantly distracted from the idea of falling asleep, Emma looked up.

“If I didn’t know you any better, I’d say you’re jealous,” she said teasingly. But as she examined his expression, she tilted her head and became serious again. “Killian… Now is not the time to be jealous.”

Killian looked down and played with her fingers. Always so selfless, Emma had never seen any hint of jealousy in him, but there was undeniably some on his features. She didn’t need this, she had already dealt with enough for the day. He looked up at her.

“Perhaps I don’t like imagining you in the arms of another man.”

Hearing his words, Emma grabbed his collar and pulled him up in a sitting position, settling on his lap. She caressed his cheek and cupped his jaw, gazing into his eyes.

“Killian… This happened more than ten years ago. And he was a worthless guy. I can promise you that you have no reason to be jealous of him.” Willing to lighten the atmosphere, she smiled before adding, “I seem to have a thing for piercing-eyed, smoldering pirates.”

She gave him a bright smile which reflected upon his features before she kissed him, caressing down his cheek and resting her hand over his heart. Forehead to forehead, she kept her eyes closed, feeling light-hearted.

“I’ve never loved someone as much as I love you,” she said on a hushed voice.

“You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved, and I don’t intend to ever love anyone else,” he replied, brushing her nose with his.

Fulfilled, a soft sigh escaped her, then silence blanketed the two of them again. Since the day when she had reached this realm, she had spent enough time away from him to consider his simple presence as precious. This was the reason why she could spend endless time simply enjoying the fact that they were together, just the two of them. But after a while, her thoughts started to wander again.

“What am I going to tell him?” she asked.

“Tell him what?” Placing his hand on her shoulder, he pulled back to look her in the eye.

“I can see there are many questions he wants to ask, he will ask about his father any time. What am I supposed to tell him?”

“The truth,” Killian simply said.

“Have you noticed how he looks at you? How he seemed to be hoping you were his dad? And instead, I will have to tell him his father was a worthless guy.”

“He can take it. The truth,” he said, caressing her cheek with the back of his fingers. “But what has he done, to deserve being called worthless?”

Taking his hand, she looked down and played with his fingers, like he had done minutes earlier. When she looked up, he was gazing at her, his head lightly tilted to the side, a hint of worry on his features. Emma took a deep breath before talking.

“He was a thief. A liar, a bad guy, and he... he broke my heart. He let me pay for his own crimes, and I found myself pregnant in jail.”

“You’ve been to jail because of him?” He repeated with his jaw clenched.

“Yes,” she said, looking down again, feeling ashamed of this part of her life.

“He didn’t deserve you.”

“I did say he was worthless. But Killian,” she looked up again, her hand going back to rest on his cheek, “that was in the past. We have to focus on the present, remember? I have you, now.”

“And I have you,” he said with a bright smile back on his lips.

Slowly leaning forward, he kissed her and, when he pulled back, her lips didn’t let go of his and followed until he was lying on his back.

* * *

In the afternoon of the next day, Emma was watching Henry and Killian standing behind the wheel. Needing some time to think, she had shut herself away and been to this spot on the railing where she had spent so much time with Killian. The fact that the boy was her son had finally sunk in, but this acceptance had led her to many questions, about him and about herself. It was while thinking of her kid that she had seen him come out from below deck and, spotting Killian behind the wheel, he hadn’t seemed to hesitate before going to him. She hadn’t been able to take her eyes off of them since then, and had watched them talking. She was too far away from them to hear what they were saying, but all she could see was that they were happy. Emma was envious of how easy Killian seemed to feel with the boy. Watching them, she was trying to guess what they were talking about; surely Henry had asked him another one of the many questions he had about sailing, considering how the captain was pointing at different parts of the ship. When he caught her eye, he flashed her a smile before going back to his explanation, and she kept watching them. A smile stretched her lips as she saw Killian tuck his hook in the collar of Henry’s shirt and step back as he pulled the boy behind the wheel. She tilted her head, trying to get a better view of what Killian was doing; it seemed like he was carving something into the wood of the ship with his hook. The boy then turned the wheel, and her smile brightened when she saw Killian ruffle his hair. They then both looked at her and, after exchanging a few more words, the captain nodded and took the wheel back. Henry came to her, obviously delighted.

“Mum, Killian is awesome! Did you see? He let me try a hand at the helm!”

Momentarily freezing as she heard this appellation she was still not used to, she smiled again at the comment about Killian. “Yes, I saw it. It looked like you did great!”

“He told me to go two notches to port. But I didn’t remember which way it was so he etched into the wood the letters P and S, so I can remember next time!” The boy was talking fast, obviously too much excited to even sit down. “It was amazing, and Killian said I was born with the sea in my blood!”

Hearing his last sentence made her think of his father and her smile faded away.

“I’m sorry,” said Henry, realizing he had said something wrong when he saw her face. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s alright, kid,” she interrupted him.

Looking for some comfort, she glanced up, but Smee had replaced Killian behind the wheel, so she looked down at her hands instead. Henry sat down on the railing, his eyes locked on her.

“You know, it’s alright,” he said, “I understand.”

“What are you talking about?” She looked up, her curiosity tickled.

“I get it. Why you look sad when you look at me. Why you look away when I look at you. Or why you don’t know what to say when you’re alone with me. I get it. You feel like your life was better off without me but…”

“No, kid, it’s not that,” she hastened to say. “It’s just I’ve never expected that one day you would find me. I just need some time.”

“You didn’t let me finish my sentence. Despite the distance you’re keeping between us, you like me. I can tell. You're just pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. But it's okay.”

His words left Emma gaping, because he had got everything right. He was so perceptive that she had difficulty in believing he was only ten.

“Kid… It’s complicated.” Feeling like she owed him an explanation, she took a deep breath before going on. “If I’ve ever looked sad to you, you can’t blame yourself. Because you’re right. The problem is me. I do feel guilty for giving you up.”

“Don’t. I know why you gave me up. You wanted to give me my best chance. You don’t have to feel guilty, I’ve forgiven you already.”

“But I can’t forgive myself. Because I know what it feels like, to be an orphan. My parents abandoned me too. I don’t even know who they are, and I’m not sure I’ve ever forgiven them for leaving me.”

The boy looked down and remained silent. Wondering what he was thinking of, Emma feared he might question his decision of forgiving her. She wanted to change but didn’t know what to say. Henry was the first one to break the silence.

“Who’s my dad?” he asked calmly, slowly looking up.

Here it was; the moment she wasn’t feeling ready for, the question she had been dreading. Finally, considering how awkward she had felt seconds before, not knowing what to say, hearing the question wasn’t as bad as she had imagined. She sighed and turned to him, feeling sorry for what she was about to tell him.

“I wish I could tell you he was a hero, like a fireman who died saving someone’s life. But he wasn’t. I’m sorry to disappoint you, kid. He was a bad guy, I wasn’t really good either. He left me before I knew you were on the way.”

Again, he looked down. “I guessed he was not a good guy. If he was, you’d still be with him.”

“I’m sorry, kid,” she said, her hand slowly reaching for his shoulder.

“That’s alright.” Glancing at her hand, he smiled again, any hint of disappointment disappearing from his features. “When did you meet Killian? How did you both come here?”

“Oh, Killian didn’t come with me, he was already in this realm,” she said, glad that his good mood had come back so easily. “How I arrived here is quite a long story, and I didn’t know Killian yet. I’ve met him in the Enchanted Forest, aboard this ship. It was only a few months ago.”

“Wow. Only a few months ago… I thought you had been together for much longer,” he said, looking into her eyes.

Emma could see how much he seemed to hold himself back to not ask all the questions he had. It looked like he didn’t know where to start. She also had this feeling like, besides all his questions, there was something he was not telling her, something he was keeping secret.

Thinking of these past few months she had spent in this realm, she also thought of these times when she had been taken away from Killian; something she didn’t want to happen again.

“This protection spell Rumplestitskin cast on the ship, you said it protects us. Are you sure about that?”

“Yes. I told you, no one can find or locate us. Even Rumplestitskin can’t. That’s why I went to Netherworld to meet you: once the spell was cast, he couldn’t find you. Unless he removed it, but he didn’t want to do that.” The boy tilted his head, curiosity imprinting his features. “Is it true what they say? Do you have magic?”

“Who said that?”

“Stories I’ve heard at the castle. Is it true?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see?” he asked with a voice filled with excitement. “If I ask for a hot chocolate with cinnamon, can you make it appear?”

“You also add cinnamon into your chocolate?”

In the end, talking with her son was quite pleasant; now that the question she had dreaded had been asked, she was feeling light-hearted. Her smile was instantly reflected on the boy’s features, who was obviously delighted to find this common trait.

“I do! One day, I accidentally dropped cinnamon in it, and it was delicious! But you didn’t answer my question: can you make one appear?”

“Sorry, kid,” she said with an amused smile on her lips, “I’m afraid you’ll have to do without chocolate. I can’t control my magic.”

“You can’t control it? I’ve heard you braved her. That requires great powers.”

“I’m not sure we can say I’ve braved her, since both times I found myself away from Killian. But whatever happened, I didn’t control it. And why are you so interested in my magic? With Regina as a mother, don’t you see magic as a bad thing?”

“Magic is good. She just decided to use it to do bad things. But you and Killian are heroes, so you have light magic.” Proud to have proven his point, he looked up at her with a smile.

“Maybe, but I can’t control it. I’m trying to learn, Killian helps me.”

“Does he have magic too?”

“No, but he’s a great help to me.”

“Maybe you could ask Rumplestitskin,” Henry suggested. “He has magic, he could teach you!”

“The Dark One? I don’t know, I’ve never even met him. And we would need to go to the Enchanted Forest.”

“Gather around, mates!” shouted Killian as he burst out from below deck with Liam by his side, interrupting their conversation. “Liam and I have an announcement to make.”

While all the sailors followed the command, Emma and Henry also stood up and came closer. She was wondering what this announcement was about, and tried to catch Killian’s eye, but she didn’t manage to guess anything before he addressed the crew.

“Liam and I have taken major decisions today. You all know that we’re sailing to the Enchanted Forest.”

Henry tugged at Emma’s sleeve. “The Enchanted Forest. Rumplestitskin!”

“Plans haven’t changed,” Killian went on. “In four weeks, we will land there. And all of you will leave the ship, as none of you is needed on board anymore.”

The announcement was followed by a hubbub as most of the sailors started to discuss the decision. Emma was still trying to catch Killian’s eye, to understand the reason why they had decided this. Among all the voices, some of the men managed to make themselves heard.

“Why would we leave the ship?”

“I want to stay on board.”

“I don’t think I’ve mentioned this was an option,” Killian replied instantly. “Liam, Henry, Emma and I will be the only ones staying aboard this ship.”

“Captain, what about our mission to find this flower?”

“This mission was on my agenda before the Evil Queen showed up aboard this ship and took Emma away from me for the second time. I now have more important in mind than looking for this bloody golden flower.”

“The golden flower?” asked Henry. “The one which gleams and glows?”

“Aye,” replied Killian, obviously not expecting him to speak. “You’ve heard of it, lad? Do you know what she could want with it?”

“I just know she uses it.” The boy was obviously not troubled by all the eyes which were on him. “I’ve seen her with it once, then I’ve heard her singing. It was weird, because it’s not something she usually does. Since then, I’ve heard the song several times, it’s always the same one. It says something like, flower, gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine.”

Many sailors exchanged confused looks. Emma and Killian glanced at each other, both surprised.

“Do you know what she uses it for?” asked Liam.

“She never told me, but when I think of all the stories I’ve heard about her, and those lyrics… I think she’s older than she looks.”

“Whatever this flower does, if she needs it, that’d be interesting to deprive her of it,” said Emma.

Her words were noisily approved by some of the sailors, but Killian’s voice covered all of them.

“Perhaps it’d be interesting, but for now, my priority is to keep you and the lad safe.” He took her eyes off of her to address the crew. “Resume your duties!”

While the crew dispersed, Emma went straight to the one she loved.

“Killian, are you sure you want to do this?”

“Aye. My apologies for not warning you beforehand. This decision is the right thing to do.”

“But your crew… You and Liam have been working with these men for years.”

“And all this time, we were on missions, looking for treasures. We had a precise destination. But now that this ship is the only place where we’re safe from the Evil Queen, I intend to keep sailing the seas without any destination. Trust me when I say this is not what the sailors would want.”

“What about what _you_ want?” asked Emma. “I don’t want to be the reason why you stop doing what you like.”

Killian smiled and lightly shook his head, not taking his eyes off of her, and softly cupping her cheek.

“My love, why would I dedicate my days looking for treasures, when the most precious of them all is standing right in front of me?”

Her lips parted but she was speechless, so she closed the distance between them and tucked her face in his neck, her fingers closed on the collar of his coat. At first being worried that he might regret his decision, hearing his words now let her imagine what it could be like to be without all these men she was barely talking with, to be just the four of them, a family sailing the seas. A smile stretched her lips. “Thank you.”


	6. Origins

Days went by and the Jolly Roger kept sailing towards the Enchanted Forest. Killian had been right: with time, Emma was feeling more and more at ease with her son; though she was still feeling guilty for giving him away as a baby, she had become comfortable enough with him to be able to avoid these awkward moments when none of them knew what to say. When she had been spending some time alone with him, the boy had been delighted to answer all her questions about his life at the castle, about the books he had read, about the dreams of being a hero he had at night, or about horse riding. He had told her about these days he had spent on horseback with Regina, how much he loved these days when they would get out of the castle and ride through the forests. Though astounded to hear Regina had taught him how to ride a horse, Emma was relieved to know that she had never been evil to him. Despite all these conversations and time going by, Emma kept feeling like Henry was hiding something. Killian told her he hadn’t noticed anything wrong when she asked him, and said she might just need some more time before getting used to the boy’s presence aboard the ship. Not knowing how to express her doubts, she never broached the subject directly with her son.

If Emma may need some more time to acclimatize herself, it wasn’t the case of Henry: comfortable with the two brothers from the beginning, he also didn’t seem to have any problem to go and talk with his mother, or with anyone; whenever he was spotting something of interest on deck, he was going to discuss sailing with the men of the crew.

Henry hadn’t given up on his idea Rumplestitskin would be able to teach Emma how to use her magic; an idea Killian wasn’t approving at all, and he hadn’t tried to hide it when she had mentioned this possibility.

“Emma, he’s calling himself the Dark One,” he had reminded her. “You’ve read all these books about magic. You’ve read about dark and light magic. His magic is surely not an example to follow.”

“He would only show me how to control it.” Her hand had reached for his cheek as she had tried to reassure him. “No one but me decides what I use my magic for.”

“Love, I really dislike this idea. I don’t want to take you there and leave you with this crocodile, I don’t trust him.”

“You trusted him before. He helped you find me. Twice. And he has been helping Henry. The boy says he would surely be able to help me.”

“I’ve never trusted him. I was only out of options and desperate.” Covering her hand with his, Killian had sighed before taking her fingers to his lips to press a soft kiss on them. “We should reach the Enchanted Forest in three weeks. How about you and I try to find a way to use your magic? If you still can’t control it in three weeks, then we’ll ask for his help.”

Approving this solution, Emma had resumed the training. Though Henry was eager to watch, she preferred to be alone with Killian during these practice sessions. Sitting on his lap, her hand in his, she was closing her eyes, focusing on her love for him while trying to remove his hook. On this afternoon, they spent hours locked in their quarters; it was one of these days when Emma was determined to reach her goal. But all she managed to create were some flares. Opening her eyes again, she sighed and looked up at him.

“How can you be so patient?” she asked.

“How many times will I have to tell you, love?” A crooked smile on his lips, he brushed a blonde curl aside to tuck it back behind her ear. “I could sit there and endlessly look at you.”

A wide smile stretching her lips, Emma looked down, unable to stop the blush from coating her cheeks.

“I’ll try again.”

Closing her eyes, she straightened up and took a deep breath, focusing on his hook. His fingers softly trailed down her bare forearm and it reminded her of the first time she had felt his touch. When his fingers reached her palm, she felt it; the burst of magic. Hearing his chuckle, she opened her eyes. But the hook was still in its place.

“I ignored you had changed your target,” he said, sounding amused.

Emma understood what he meant only when she noticed he was shirtless. She looked around and spotted the red velvet vest on the floor next to them.

“I…” she started, her eyes locked on his bare chest. She hadn’t been aware of this change of target either; her thoughts had obviously drifted. Again, she blushed, before feeling his lips softly pressing on one warm cheek.

“Well, at least we’re in the privacy of our quarters.” He smirked and raised a teasing eyebrow, while she was playing with his necklaces. “May I know what you were thinking of when this happened?”

A giggle escaped her before she defiantly looked him in the eye. “I thought I was your open book, captain? I’m not going to tell you anything. Not when I can show you.”

His smirk reflected on her features, her lips crashed against his and she let the fire burning inside her. Slowly, her hands skimmed down his torso and reached for the waistband of his pants. She trembled lightly when she felt the cold metal on her hip as his hook and fingers slipped under her top. And she started with surprise when she heard a knock on the door.

“Mum?”

“Henry…” she whispered against his lips. She then realized. “Dinner time!”

With a sigh, she stood up, quickly picked up the red vest and pressed it against his chest, with a look indicating him to hurry. Glad she had told her son to always knock on the door instead of bursting in, she then rushed to the door and partially opened it, just enough so that the boy would only see her.

“Liam said he’s coming! It’s time for dinner,” he happily announced, stepping forward. But Emma didn’t move and Henry tried to peek inside, suspicious. “What were you doing? Where’s Killian?”

“Right here, lad,” said Killian while opening the door widely, already dressed. Standing behind Emma, he casually wrapped his arms around her, feeling like it was natural to do so even in front of the boy. “We were trying to practice magic.”

“Awesome! Did you succeed?”

Killian chuckled and was faster than her to reply.

“Definitely a success, I’d say,” he said before pressing a kiss on her cheek.

Repressing a laugh, Emma didn’t need to reply anything as Liam arrived. Having dinner together in the quarters was something they had got used to in the past days. The boy’s questions were generally enough to keep them talking all along.

“Killian, can you tell the story of when you and mum met, and you climbed the beanstalk?”

“Again, lad? I’ve already told this story three days ago.”

“But good stories can be told more than once,” replied the boy.

“I wouldn’t mind hearing this story once again,” Emma added, flashing Killian a smile.

“Please?” asked Henry.

Liam chuckled and watched his brother cave in. Killian actually didn’t seem at all reluctant to tell this story again. Emma had been delighted to hear his version of their story and approved what her son had said: she would gladly listen to it more than once, because never would she get tired of hearing him describe how he had been feeling during these first days they had spent together. Killian’s tale started exactly like it had started a few days earlier, but this time, Henry didn’t remain quiet.

“But why did you feel like this? Was it love at first sight?” he asked.

“Aye, perhaps it was. It happened right in front of your cabin. I was coming out of it to go back on deck and, when I expected it the least, your mum just bumped into me.” Killian locked his eyes on Emma and went on with his tale. “I was seeing only her. I didn’t know where I was anymore, I barely remembered _who_ I was. It had never happened to me before. I was unable to move, or even to think.”

“It was the same for me,” added Emma, remembering how easily she had lost herself in his eyes, or how she had regained the ability to move only when she had realized how close they were.

“I knew the sailors wouldn’t like the idea of having a woman on board, so I’ve told your mum to rush below deck,” explained Liam. “When I found them just a few seconds later, it was like they were in another world.”

“It _really_ was like we were in another world,” Killian said. “Or in no world at all, because it simply felt like my everything was her.”

Devouring him with her eyes, Emma leant back into her chair, melting at his words.

“Why did it happen?” asked the boy, staring at him. “What made you fall in love? What do you love the most in mum?”

“What I love the most?” With a crooked smile filled with tenderness, Killian looked at Emma and tried to pick his favorite feature, but quickly surrendered. “Everything.”

A dreamy sigh escaped her, and her hand went to rest on his thigh. His hand covered hers and he looked again at the boy.

“Everything, because I truly believe your mum is the most beautiful woman of all the realms. And when you asked whether it was love at first sight, I said _perhaps_ it was, because even if it took me less than a second to fall for her, waking up by her side every morning feels like falling in love all over again, even more deeply than the day before. I love your mum much more now than on the first day when we met. Perhaps you’re too young to understand but here’s the thing, lad: when you meet someone, all you can see is the external beauty. But as days go by, you learn to know this person, and there are times when the beauty that comes from the inside outshines what you can see on the outside and this, lad, is the best that can ever happen.”

While Henry was looking at him admiringly, Emma kept devouring him with her eyes, biting her lip to repress this urge she was feeling, this need to close the distance between them, to sit on his lap and lose herself in his embrace, in his kisses, simply in him.

It was only when Liam spoke and she didn’t have Killian’s voice as a sound background anymore that she focused again on the conversation.

“When I found him and asked where Emma was, he looked completely lost. We talked about realms and magic beans. I mentioned the beanstalk and the next second he was gone.”

“I _was_ lost. The most beautiful woman had walked out of my sight as fast as she had burst into my life, and this moment had been so wonderful that I was wondering whether it had been real. As soon as you reminded me of this beanstalk, brother, I had to go after her, I couldn’t let her go so easily. It was easy to find her: I stopped the first man who was on my way and asked whether he had seen a beautiful blonde lady with an unusual outfit. He’s been able to indicate me the tavern where she had gone.”

While Emma blushed when she heard the words Killian had used to describe her, Henry tilted his head, his curiosity tickled.

“What outfit were you wearing?”

“This one,” said Emma, pointing at the black sweatpants and the red tank top she had left on the bed in the morning, the outfit she was sometimes wearing during the night. “That’s not unusual where I come from, that’s what I was wearing before being brought to this realm.”

“It may be unusual, but it fits you very well, love.” Killian softly caressed her cheek and focused again on the boy. “I found her in this tavern, and offered her dinner.”

“Dinner, like a romantic dinner?” asked Henry.

“You know what, kid?” said Emma. “At this moment, I asked myself the same question.”

“We were only the two of us, dining by candlelight. We can say it was our first intimate dinner.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be. You said you wanted to talk to me about a way to bring me home.”

“I did. And without a plausible excuse, you would have refused to share this dinner with me.”

“Probably,” she said, making a crooked smile tug at his lips.

“So we had this intimate dinner, even if we didn’t know whether it was one; just the two of us by candlelight. We talked about magic beans and how to get one. We agreed that I would come back in the morning and we’d go together to find one.”

Killian went on with his story, giving more details than when he had told it three days earlier; revealing how he had spent the evening studying maps of the land and searching through books to find anything that could be helpful, preparing everything for the next day, feeling both excited and nervous at the idea of seeing her again. It had only been late at night that he had gone to sleep. But only a few hours later, when it was still pitch dark outside, he had awoken and stared at the ceiling, wondering whether it had been a dream. Realizing it had been real, his heart had started to thump against his chest and he had been unable to get back to sleep. The mere thought of her had been keeping him awake and hours had seemed to go by slowly. All he had been wanting had been to go back to this tavern and see her again, but it had been too early. He had been pacing around, making sure he had got everything they would need to climb the beanstalk. At break of day, he had been to the stable and discussed with the man the possibility of having two horses for the day. Finally, he had gone back to this tavern, feeling again this mix of excitement and nervousness, afraid to see her again and even more afraid that she might have fled during the night. But he had knocked on the door and she had opened it, and there she had been, standing in front of him, even more beautiful than in his memories.

Since he was the one talking, Killian was the last one to finish eating. When he arrived to this part of the story when he and Emma were at the foot of the beanstalk, he paused and offered them to continue the story on deck. After spending the afternoon in their quarters, the idea of going out sounded quite appealing to Emma. And Henry, as always, looked delighted.

“Liam, are you joining us?”

“I’m afraid I’m not, lad. This is a lovely story, but I’ve heard it already, and duty calls.”

Liam accompanied them on deck, but it was without him that they went to the bow of the ship. Sitting down directly on the floor with his back against the railing, Killian wrapped Emma in his arms, who was leaning back into him. Henry was sitting cross-legged in front of them, ready to hear the rest of the story. Emma slightly shifted sideways so that she could look up at Killian while still being held in his embrace. Once they were all settled, the captain resumed his tale, turning into words what they had lived at the top of this beanstalk and how they had managed to escape. He told the boy how he had tried, during their second dinner together, to convince her to come on board at least for a few days, just the time for them to find a way to bring her home. Once again, he revealed details Emma had never heard, telling how he had spent the night trying to get to sleep and ending up pacing around on deck, waiting for the night to come to its end and watching the sun rising above the ocean, before going back to his cabin because he had been tired of checking the docks every minute. Already not of a patient nature, the waiting had then been unbearable. But it had been worth it since, at last, there had been a knock on his door, a knock which had made his heart thump against his chest; and it had been her.

Listening to this, until then, untold part of the story, Emma was melting in his embrace, her eyes locked on him, her fingers trailing along his arms.

“I had no idea I had made you feel like this,” she said in a voice so soft that Henry had to prick up his ears to hear what she was saying. “Not to the point of depriving you of your sleep.”

“Love, how was I supposed to sleep when I wasn’t sure I would ever see you again? I didn’t want to consider the possibility of you not being a part of my life. I didn’t want to leave without you.”

“Killian…” Overwhelmed with love, a sigh escaped her and she shifted some more in his embrace, her side leaning against his chest. “I remember that night. I haven’t slept well either. I’ve been tossing and turning for hours, trying to decide where I would go in the morning. I had this choice between going back to the Apprentice, or to you.”

“And you chose me.”

“But I almost didn’t,” she said, making him raise an inquiring eyebrow. “In the morning, I was heading towards the forest, because the Apprentice seemed to know so much about magic.”

“What made you change your mind?” Killian asked, his curiosity obviously tickled.

“I’ve spent the night wondering where I’d go, and I knew one of my reasons to go to the Apprentice was that I was scared.”

“What were you afraid of, love?”

“Of where it would lead me if I chose you. In one day, you had cracked these walls I had. I felt like it was dangerous to let you have so much power. But at the same time, I wanted to be with you again. And you were leaving in the morning, while the Apprentice probably still lives in this same cottage. It was my only chance. I was heading to the forest but I changed my mind, because… I’ve listened to my heart.”

“Sounds like a very plausible excuse for changing your mind,” Killian whispered in her ear, tenderly tightening his embrace. “And I am very glad you did.”

Emma rested her head on his shoulder and furtively pressed a kiss in his neck before looking up at her son who was gazing at them.

“I think that’s all for tonight, kid. Did you enjoy the story?”

“Yes! Even if I have heard it already. It’s so awesome when it’s told by Captain Hook himself!”

Emma giggled and both Killian and Henry looked at her.

“You’re not approving this statement?” teased Killian.

“No, it’s not that,” she said, still amused. “I love the way you tell our story. It’s just how Henry called you…”

“Captain Hook?” interrupted her son.

“Yes.” Feeling like she was a bit slouched, she sat up straight. “You know, the book which brought me here?”

Emma was referring to this book which had mysteriously appeared to her on the day of her twenty-eighth birthday; this book which had made her travel from Boston to the Enchanted Forest. Both Killian and Henry knew what she was referring to. The book had been one of the first things she had talked about with Killian, on the day when they had met. With Henry, she had mentioned it during one of these conversations they had about reading, and they had found out that he had owned this book for a few months, until this day when it had mysteriously disappeared.

“What about this book?” asked Henry.

“To me it was a fairy tales book, filled with stories all children in the world know. Where I used to live, we have many books like this, with stories of princes and princesses; I thought it was just one of them. But the Apprentice told me all of the stories of this book were real.” Emma paused, losing the thread as she felt the intensity of Killian’s gaze on her, as he was trying to figure out where she wanted to come to. “I didn’t realize at first, because I’ve met you as Lieutenant Jones, but do you know that, in the realm where I lived, there’s one of these fairy tales about Captain Hook?”

“Awesome!” said the boy. “Killian, you’re known in the whole universe!”

“There’s really a story about me?”

Emma nodded. “There’s even a movie.”

“What’s a movie?” asked Henry.

Both he and Killian looked confused, which amused Emma. “It is a bunch of images and sounds, telling the story of some fictional characters. Well, they’re supposed to be fictional.”

“And there’s one of these things about me?”

“There’s one of these things about Captain Hook, sailing the Jolly Roger in Neverland,” affirmed Emma. “They were right about some elements, but they should be told they got it all wrong about the man.”

Killian raised an eyebrow, rather amused by all of this. “Why are you saying this? In these stories, what was I like?”

Emma giggled, thinking of the Captain Hook she knew when she was a child. “Captain Hook is the villain of the story. And he’s not even handsome, he has waxed mustaches and perms.”

Henry burst out laughing. “Perhaps you should try that, Killian. Waxed mustaches and perms.”

“No, please don’t,” said Emma, unable to repress a laugh.

“Worry not, love, I won’t. Waxed mustaches and perms aren’t my thing.” Killian joined in the laughter and caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Is there one story about you?”

“No, there isn’t.”

“That’s unfair, there should be one about you too.”

“Well, there is this swan princess. But that’s not me. Even if there were times during my childhood when I wished I could turn into a swan and fly away.” She looked into his eyes with a tender smile on her lips. “I am not in any movie. If I was in any story, I would want to be in yours.”

“You’re adorable,” whispered Killian, tightening his embrace and kissing her cheek.

“You both are,” said Henry with a smile.

With one hand in his and the other one closing on his collar, Emma rested her head on his shoulder.

“Killian, what happened next?” asked the boy. “I want to hear the rest of the story.”

“The rest of the story? Aren’t you tired, lad?”

“You haven’t told me that part yet.” He then added with a smile, “Please?”

Killian tilted his head to look at Emma, who nodded. Killian then went on with the story, telling about the first days they had spent sailing. Lulled by his voice, Emma felt her eyelids grow heavy. She tried to resist and to focus on the story he was telling, but all she could hear was the melody of his voice. Her grip on his collar loosened and she fell asleep in his arms.

When Killian paused, Henry pointed at her and let him read on his lips, not daring to speak out loud, “She’s sleeping.”

He nodded before looking down at her. “I know. She’s adorable. Lad, I’ll tell you the rest of the story later. I should bring her back to the quarters now.”

“Sure! Tomorrow night!”

“Aye, tomorrow night if you want. Goodnight, lad.”

Killian wrapped her arms around his neck and scooped her up. Once below deck, Emma opened sleepy eyes.

“My Killian…” she whispered.

She clumsily reached for his cheek, her hand landing on his jaw much more heavily than she had intended to. He chuckled and closed the door behind them, before laying her down on the bed. But she kept her arms wrapped around his neck, her sleepy eyes locked on him, a wide smile on her lips, not letting him go.

“Love?”

Standing up beside the bed while leaning over her, unwilling to take her arms off of his neck, he looked into her eyes, waiting for her to let him move. But she still didn’t seem willing to let him go. She managed to push her boots off of her feet, and kept looking into his eyes while her hands brushed down his neck.

“Not this,” she whispered, glancing down at her outfit before looking up at him with a smile.

He didn’t need her to say anything else to guess what she meant.

“Are you asking me to undress you?” he asked with a smirk, and she replied with an even wider smile.

He softly took off her pants. Once she was topless, he didn’t have time to see her coming: she grabbed the collar of his coat and pulled him down, giggling as she found herself under him. She pushed his coat off of his shoulders and played with the buttons of his vest. He helped her and, when he was shirtless, she pulled him down to her again.

“My Killian,” she repeated before letting out a sigh of delight.

Leaning on his elbows, lacing his fingers with hers and softly pinning her hand on the mattress, he stared at her, slightly tilting his head on the side.

“What’s wrong?” Emma asked.

She tilted her head as well, reflecting his move, and Killian smiled even more.

“I don’t mean to upset you, love, but it looks like you’re drunk.” He paused, repressing a laugh. “Did you have any rum?”

“No,” she giggled and tilted her head on the side some more, stretching her neck while keeping her eyes locked on him. “I’m drunk in love, in love with you.”

“I know it’s the third time I’m saying this tonight, but you truly are adorable.”

Killian pressed an open-mouth kiss on her neck and her lips parted. Keeping her hand in his, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders, keeping him close to her.

“My Killian,” she said again.

“My love,” he whispered against her skin before trailing kisses down her neck.

“Stay with me. Forever.”

“Gladly,” he said seconds before she fell asleep.

* * *

In the morning on the next day, Emma was in the quarters. She was reading a book, trying to find anything about how to control her magic, when Henry knocked on her door.

“Henry,” she welcomed him with a smile.

“Mum, can I talk to you?”

“Of course,” she said, slightly tilting her head as she examined him. He looked unusually uneasy. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” he said, entering the quarters. He sat down on the chair in front of her, on the opposite side of the desk, before admitting. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”

Emma opened wide eyes in surprise, and thought of all these moments when she had felt like he was hiding something from her; finally she had been right all this time. Since she wasn’t saying anything, Henry kept talking, looking down at his hands under the table.

“You being my mum, and me being adopted by Regina; it was already so much for you to take in, I didn’t want to add anything else. But I think you’re ready to hear this now.”

“Kid, what’s that about?”

Henry gathered his courage and looked up at her. “Last night, when we talked about stories and Killian asked whether you were in any of them, you said you weren’t. But that’s not true. Well, that may be true in your realm, but not here.”

Emma stared at him, repeating his words in her head. But to her, it made no sense. “Henry, what are you talking about?”

“It’s about your parents. They didn’t abandon you,” the boy quickly confessed.

Shocked, Emma leant back into her chair. “How would you know that?”

“The book which brought you here, I’ve told you I had it, I didn’t tell you how I got it. Rumplestitskin gave it to me, because he said you’re in this book.”

Emma was staring at the boy, unable to say anything because of the lump she was feeling in her throat. Henry went on.

“There are many stories in it. One of the most famous ones is the story of Snow White. I think everyone in the Enchanted Forest knows her.”

“Snow White? She’s real too?” she managed to ask.

“You know her?”

“In fairy tales, in my realm.”

“She is real, here. Regina married Snow White’s father.”

“The Evil Queen. Of course she married her father. That’s how it happens in the fairytale.”

“But it’s not a fairytale,” said Henry. “That’s how Regina became Queen. Snow White’s father died. Many say Regina killed him to get all the power. And Snow White found herself alone with her stepmother. They hate each other. Snow White fell in love with Prince Charming, and Regina spent years chasing them.”

Not knowing where he was coming to, Emma lost patience. “I know that, that’s what happens in the fairytale. Why are you telling me all of this? How does it have anything to do with me?”

“Because that’s only the beginning of the story.” Henry bit his lip. “Snow White and Prince Charming had a baby. But Regina kidnapped the baby princess and no one has ever heard from them again. Stories tell that Regina sent her to another world. The baby princess; it was you.”


	7. Back on Land

Emma was leaning back into her chair, staring blankly at her son.

“Mum?” he asked with a hint of worry in his voice. “Are you okay?”

Her stare was still blank when she talked. “Regina kidnapped Snow White’s baby and the baby was me… I… I need some time.”

“Do you want me to call Killian?” offered Henry.

But Emma didn’t hear him. She was focusing on her breathing, trying to make it steady as she felt like she was close to pass out. The words of the boy were on unceasing repeat in her mind; a couple of sentences which made no sense. Was she really supposed to believe, after having thought for her entire life she had simply been unwanted, that she was the daughter of a fairytale's couple, a baby princess abducted and sent to another realm by an Evil Queen?

“So you want me to believe I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Which would mean I have the Evil Queen as something like my stepgrandmother. Your stepgreatgrandmother... who also happens to be your adoptive mother.” Trying to picture the family tree to make it more understandable made the story even less plausible and she frowned. “How old is Regina? She doesn't look that old.”

“That's what I said when we talked about the golden flower. I think she is older than she looks.”

Emma thought of all of this. She considered the possibility of being the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming before shaking her head.

“This is not possible,” she slowly said. “I can't believe you.”

“But you should! Why would I tell you this if it wasn't real?”

“Just because you believe something is real doesn't make it true. What makes you believe I am... this baby? Don't you see how crazy this is? You're trying to make me believe that this realm where the book took me is the realm where I happen to come from.”

“Don't you see? This is exactly the reason why you should believe me. The book didn't appear to you randomly. It just took you back to where you belong. Is magic a common thing in the realm where you lived?”

Emma stared at her son, realizing he had taken a point. “No. Magic is like fairy tales, it's not supposed to exist.”

“See? This is why you should believe me.”

Again, it took Emma some time to reply. “Let's assume that I come from this realm; why would I be this baby?”

“Because the baby was called Emma. In the book, there was a picture of her, wrapped in a white blanket with her name embroidered on it.”

“Embroidered with a purple ribbon?” Emma asked suddenly.

“I think it was purple, yes. Why?”

Feeling her heart thumping in her chest, she leant back into her chair some more. “This blanket is the only thing I have from my parents, one of the only things I've kept.”

A bright smile appeared on the boy's features. “Do you believe me, now?”

Emma nodded, not feeling like she had a choice anymore. “Have you ever met them? Snow White and Prince Charming, do you know them?”

With her question, Henry's smile faded away. “I am only ten, I can't know them. No one has ever heard from them since you were born.”

Emma felt a lump in her throat as she was reminded of this part of the story.

“What did she do to them?” she managed to articulate.

“No one knows exactly,” he said, looking down. “All we know is that she spent years trying to get rid of them. And she eventually succeeded.”

“Why telling me all of this? Why telling me you know who my parents are to tell me they are dead?”

“Maybe they’re not.”

“Someone would have seen them all this time. You know Regina more than I do, how likely is it that she let them live?”

The boy looked down. “I'm sorry. I thought you deserved to know.”

“Does she know who I am? Regina, does she know? Is this why she's after me and Killian?”

“I don't know. She's not really sharing her evil plans with me. Mum, I'm sorry. I thought you'd like to know your parents never wanted to abandon you.”

Emma had always thought being unwanted was the worst. But now she knew the truth, she felt like this reality was even worse. “Can you leave me alone for a moment?”

“I'm sorry,” he repeated before standing up and leaving the quarters.

Too much preoccupied by all of this, Emma watched him leave without saying a word. The boy had a precise idea about where to go: once on deck, he glanced around and went to Killian as soon as he spotted him.

“Killian, I think you should go and see my mum.”

The captain immediately stopped what he was doing. “What’s wrong?”

“She said she wanted to be left alone but I think you should go.”

“Lad, there are times when she wants to be on her own, and we have to give her the time she needs.”

“It’s not that. Well, that’s what she said, that she wanted to be alone. But I think she just doesn’t want to see _me_. She’d surely like to be with you, you always know how to make her smile.”

“Lad, what happened?”

Henry looked down. “I think I’ve hurt her.”

“What did you do?” asked Killian, ready to rush to the quarters.

“I know who her parents are. I never dared to tell her until now, but I thought she’d like to know,” Henry quickly said. The captain raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Killian, I think you should talk to her.”

“I’m going to her right now. But lad,” he said, placing his hand on his shoulder and leaning down to look into his eyes. “Worry not. She won’t hate you for this, she only needs time.”

“That’s what she said; that she needs time.”

“See? You did nothing wrong. If there’s anything you know about her parents, she deserves to know the truth as well.”

Once he was sure the boy was fine, Killian rushed below deck. He knocked on the door and silently entered the quarters, his eyes locked on Emma who was blankly staring at the table.

“Love?” he asked softly, slightly tilting his head on one side.

Slowly, Emma looked up and a tear rolled down her cheek.

“Is Henry sending you?”

“Aye. He suggested you may want me to be here with you.”

“He’s right.”

Emma stood up and they walked to each other. Once she was in his arms, she silently stayed there, finally feeling like she was able to breathe.

“Have you ever heard of Snow White?” she asked after a moment.

“I think I’ve heard that name before. Why?”

“Henry said everyone in the Enchanted Forest knows her story.”

Emma took his hand and pulled him to the bed. She waited for him to sit down before settling on his lap. Keeping his hand in hers, she shared the story she had just been told.

“Her father was king. But Regina married him and probably murdered him to become queen. She spent years chasing Snow White and her prince, trying to split them apart like she does with us. And Henry told me that…” A lump in her throat made her stop midsentence and she had to bite her lip to repress her tears. “Snow White and Prince Charming had a baby: me.”

“So that’s what the boy talked about,” he said. Her curiosity tickled, Emma looked up at him, so Killian explained, “When he came to me on deck, he mentioned something about your parents.”

His fingers tenderly tightened around hers, encouraging her to let go of all these feelings she was keeping inside. Unable to hold them back any longer, tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Regina took me away from them and sent me to this other world where I‘ve spent my whole life. I haven’t been abandoned by choice. She took me away from them.”

“Love…” Deciding actions were speaking louder than words, he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her against him.

“Killian… She was after them like she is now after us, and she won. Nothing will stop her. She will win again.”

Understanding she was not talking only about her parents, Killian softly cupped her cheek. “Emma, look at me. She won’t win. I won’t let her do that. And you won’t either, you have this powerful magic that you can use against her.”

“I can’t control it.”

“You used it perfectly well on the few times when we faced her. But we don’t even need to face her again: we have this protection spell hiding us from her.”

“What if one day, she goes through this spell?”

“Then, I’ll be ready. I’ll fight for us. I won’t let her take you away from me once again.”

Emma tucked her face in his neck and took a deep breath. Again, silence blanketed them while she let his embrace soothe her. Killian was thinking of the story of her parents and a detail made him smile.

“You truly are a princess.”

Reminded of these times when he had called her his princess, Emma smiled at his words.

“A princess who loves you.”

“A princess and a pirate; perhaps that would make a better story than this failed Captain Hook wearing perms and waxed mustaches.”

Emma giggled and looked up at him, her smile instantly reflected on his features.

“That’d be a better story, but maybe I prefer to keep it secret.” She smiled at the curious look he gave her and explained. “Imagine if the girls in my world knew that the real Captain Hook isn’t this ugly guy with perms and waxed mustaches. If they knew the real Killian Jones, they’d try to steal you from me.”

Killian chuckled. “Wouldn’t they think I’m fictional?”

“That probably wouldn’t be enough to stop some of them. I’m not willing to take the risk.”

A smirk tugged at his lips. “Wouldn’t you happen to be quite possessive?”

“I know a pirate who told me treasures need to be kept safe,” she said with a playful smile.

“Are you saying I’m a treasure?” he asked, looking quite pleased.

“You’re the best thing I’ve ever had, is that enough to say so?” she asked, the playful smile still on her lips. “I’m possessive and you’re mine.”

Her lips crashed against his and she ran her fingers through his hair. He trailed his lips across her cheek and pressed them on her neck, making a soft moan escape her.

“I love it when you do this,” she whispered.

He smiled against her skin. “I think there’s this, which you love even more.”

Not having time to ask about what he was referring to, her eyes closed and her lips parted when she felt the open-mouth kiss on her neck. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders while her hold on his fingers loosened.

“Stay. Just like that,” she managed to say, melting in his embrace.

Doing as he was asked, Killian kept her in his arms, giving her the time she seemed to need. He had managed to distract her, to make her smile and even laugh, but in the silence, Emma’s thoughts wandered, and she found herself thinking again of the story she had been told earlier; the story of her parents. Tightening her arm around him, she tucked her face in his neck.

“Emma?”

She looked up with eyes filled with tears, biting her bottom lip to stop them from rolling down.

“I’ve spent my life being angry with my parents, wondering why they had given me up. But they never wanted this. And now they’re gone.” Feeling like she wouldn’t be able to hold back her tears much longer, she hid her face again in his neck, her fingers tightening on his. “Why does the past keep surfacing?”

There had been these few days of happiness she had spent with him and only him, and she had obviously been harboring illusions, imagining she could put the past behind and start again by having a future with him and only him. Then, her son had walked into her life and, though she didn’t have any regret about this, she had needed to put much effort to get used to his presence. And now, there was this story about Snow White and Prince Charming.

“It’s like everything I’ve ever believed is wrong. It was easier not to know.”

Her lips still flattened to hold back her tears, she looked up again, looking into his eyes for some comfort.

“Love, let go of them. Your tears, it won’t do you any good to keep them. Don’t hold them back; especially not when I’m here to wipe them away.”

Emma bit her lip, trying to resist, but a tear escaped her. Placing her hand over his heart, he softly cupped her cheek and brushed the tear away with his thumb, before leaning his forehead against hers. More tears rolled down, stopped by his finger, or by his lips which he trailed across her other cheek, kissing them away. Not trying to hold them back, she focused on his heartbeat she was feeling under her palm and, once again, his tender embrace soothed her.

“I should go and talk to Henry,” she finally said. “I’ve made him feel bad. But he was right to tell me all of this; he needs to know that.”

“Aye, I think the lad could use some reassuring words.”

“I need to go. Are you coming on deck?”

“Indeed.”

Spotting her son on deck, she pecked Killian’s lips and took a deep breath before letting go of his hand.

“Henry,” she said, joining him at the stern of the ship.

Staring at the backwash, he instinctively cringed at the sound of her voice.

“Henry, that’s alright, I’m not here to blame you.”

“Really? Even if I’ve hurt you?”

“Kid, you didn’t hurt me. I was just unprepared, and I’ll probably need some time before getting used to the idea I’m… a fairytale princess, but you did nothing wrong.”

The beginning of a smile could be seen on his features as he looked into her eyes, but he still seemed hesitant to believe her words.

“I thought telling you was a bad thing, that maybe you would have preferred not to know.”

“Henry, telling me was the right thing to do.”

Not knowing what else to say, Emma closed the distance between her and her son and did something she had never done yet: she pulled him into a hug. Almost instantly, he tightly wrapped his arms around her waist. When she looked up, Emma glimpsed Killian, who nodded approvingly, a tender smile on his lips. Henry finally let go of her. He was smiling brightly again.

“It’s the first time you’re doing this.”

“I know. And probably not the last.”

His smile seemed to brighten even more. “So I can always tell you anything?”

“Is there something else that you know?” A hint of worry tinted her words.

“No, I’ve told you everything. But if one day I find out anything, I can tell you?”

“Yes. No secret is needed between us.”

The boy beamed. “Yes! No secret! But we can keep secrets from others, things that just the two of us know.”

“What kind of secrets are you talking about?” asked Emma, arching her eyebrows.

“Secrets as if we were on a secret mission!”

Unwilling to ruin his cheerfulness, she leant against the railing of the ship, ready to listen to him. “A secret mission?”

“Yes!” Henry leant against the railing beside her. “It needs to be secret because Regina thinks I don’t know she’s not my real mum. But I know, and what I also know is that you will defeat her.”

Flashing him a smile, she played the game. “And how am I supposed to do that?”

“With your magic.”

“Kid, I can’t control it.”

“That’s what you think, and that’s also what she thinks. But you will control it, and she won’t know that; it’s why this needs to be a secret mission.”

“How can you be so sure I will ever manage to control it?”

“Because good always wins,” he answered with a bright smile. “We need a code name!”

“A code name for what?” asked Emma, having some difficulty in following him.

“For our secret mission!” he said as if it was obvious.

“Oh! What about…” Emma paused, thinking about a possible name. “Secret Operation?”

The boy laughed and shook his head. “No. I will find us a name. Hmm, I need time, I will tell you when I find one. As a part of the mission, you should work on your magic in the meantime.”

Henry’s eye was caught by one of the sailors and he departed, going to the man and probably asking him some questions about what he was doing. Killian came to Emma and she did as the boy had suggested: she spent most of the afternoon with Killian in their quarters, trying to practice her magic. But on this day, she didn’t manage to produce even a flare.

In the evening, after dinner, Emma was on deck, leaning on the railing of the ship, blankly staring at the horizon. She was thinking of the parents she had never met; the parents who, unlike what she had always thought, had never wanted to give her up. Her lips flattened, she focused on the reflection of the moon on the ocean to forget about the tears threatening to come.

“Mum, are you okay?”

Emma slowly turned to her son who was standing by her side. “I’m fine, just thinking.”

“This is a beautiful place to think. I like it, here. Sailing the ocean…” The boy trailed off as he contemplated the view. It was only after a silent moment that he talked again, “Operation Cobra.”

Having escaped again when looking at the ocean, Emma barely heard him. “Hmm?”

“Operation Cobra,” he repeated. Seeing the look of confusion on her face, he added, “The code name!”

“Cobra? That has nothing to do with fairy tales. Where does that come from?”

“Nowhere,” he answered proudly. “That’s the point. No one will guess what Operation Cobra is about.”

A genuine smile appeared again on Emma’s features. “Let’s go for Operation Cobra, then.”

“Awesome!” said the boy enthusiastically. “Now, did you improve with your magic?”

Emma shook her head and Henry shrugged, looking again at the ocean.

“That’s alright,” he said. “You can try again tomorrow. I know you will succeed.”

* * *

Henry kept thinking she would control her magic, but it wasn't enough: weeks went by and, though she now managed to take off Killian's hook or any piece of his clothing almost every time she tried, it was nothing compared to the power she had felt when facing the Evil Queen. Killian was also very supportive, encouraging her; there wasn't a moment when he stopped believing in her. When they were not practicing, they were looking through books, looking for any piece of information which might be useful to help her. But as much as he wished weeks would be enough for her to control her power, she still felt unable to do what she wanted with her magic.

“Killian, if we faced her now... I can't control what I'm doing. Even if it seems to work when I really need it, I would be reassured if I knew what I'm doing. I want to see Rumplestiltskin.”

“I know. This is why we will go to him.”

Though he hated the idea of having to see him again, he was putting her first.

The Enchanted Forest soon came into view. On this day, most of the sailors' conversations were about where they would go next. Some of them had tried to convince the Jones brothers to let them stay on board, but Killian had been affirmative on this point: all of them needed to leave. Mother and son were sitting on the railing, Henry excitingly commenting on every action of the sailors as they landed. Emma simply loved to see how passionate he was about sailing, and how good of a teacher Killian had been.

“And now, you'll meet Rumplestiltskin, and he'll help you. You will control your magic!”

“But first, we need to find him.”

“If we call him, he'll come. We just need to get off the ship and he'll find us. He always does when I call him. Let me call him for us.”

But once the sailors had left the ship, Killian didn't approve of this plan.

“Killian, I thought we had agreed on going to see him?” asked Emma.

“And we need to call him if we want him to find us,” added Henry.

“Aye, we will see Rumplestiltskin, but I won't let you call him. Lad, once you're out of the ship, you won't be under the protection spell anymore. And should I remind you that you won't even be able to see the ship once you're on the docks? We will see Rumplestitskin, but I will be the one calling him.”

Becoming used to this protection spell as they had been safely sailing for weeks, and preoccupied as she was by her magic, Emma had forgot about this fact they wouldn't be protected anymore.

“We can all go together,” said Henry.

“No, lad. You and Emma are staying on board. I'll call you when I know the path is clear.”

“What if it's not?” asked Emma, standing up and closing the distance, only now realizing how risky it was to leave the ship.

“Love, you don't have to worry about me. The path will probably be clear, but I still want you and Henry to stay safe until I've checked.”

“Can I be of any help?” asked Liam.

“There's one last detail I need to take care of.” Killian led Liam below deck. “I need you to keep Emma and Henry safe. In case we are expected on the docks. I'll go there and summon the Dark One, but if something goes wrong...”

“Killian,” interrupted Liam, knowing what his brother was about to say and already disapproving the idea.

But Killian went on. “If I am not back soon, I want you to sail away and keep them safe.”

“Do you realize it is the second time you're asking me to do this? And I didn't listen to you.”

“And now you get another occasion to do it. Make things right this time.”

“Because you think leaving you is the right thing to do? I couldn't leave you then, and I won't leave you now.”

“Now is different. The first time, I ventured on my own to find Emma. Now, Emma and Henry are on board. All I'm asking you is to keep them safe.”

“And all I want is for the three of you to be safe. I can protect Emma and Henry, but you can't ask me to leave my brother.”

Staring at Liam, a muscle could be seen flexing in his jaw. “Then I can just hope no one is waiting for us down there on the docks.”

The men went back on deck.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t come with you?” asked Emma.

“Aye, love, I’m sure about this: I want you to be safe and stay here until I come back to you. This is all I ask.”

Killian pecked her lips before going on the docks. Emma and Liam anxiously watched him, but soon he was out of sight, as the other ships were hiding him from view.

Killian was walking carefully, his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to unsheathe if needed. But the only men around were the few sailors who still hadn't decided on where to go.

“Rumplestitskin!” the captain called.

“I’m right here, dearie,” said the Dark One, standing a few meters aside. “The last time I saw you, I got this impression I was done dealing with pirates. This was unfortunately a misunderstanding.”

“Always such pleasant words. You should know that the displeasure is shared. I’m here for Emma.”

Rumplestitskin sniggered, which annoyed Killian. “For Emma, how surprising! Are you looking for your true love again?”

“No, I know where she is. But she has magic, an amazing power which she can’t control. The lad said you could help her. My question is, can you?”

The man seemed delighted. “I can gladly offer my help.”

“And I can decline the offer depending on what you’re expecting in return. What’s your price?”

“Nothing, that’s on me.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that? You told me yourself that all magic comes with a price.”

“But things have changed now. I’m not doing it for you, I’m doing it for Henry. If he wants me to help his mother, I will. Ask him, I’ve been helping him for years, and never asked him anything in return.”

“So you’ll help Emma and won’t expect anything in return?” asked Killian, a doubtful eyebrow raised.

“Shared interest, dearie. Emma wants to control her magic to be able to defeat the Evil Queen. When a battle breaks out, all you have to do is to choose your side; to choose it wisely, and I know how powerful Emma is.”

“How can you know that? You haven’t seen the power inside of her. You haven’t even met her.”

“Prophecies, dearie. I know how powerful she is, and I can promise that when it comes to helping Emma with magic, I won’t ever ask for anything in return.”

Raising an eyebrow as he was surprised by these words, the captain was staring at the man. But he didn’t have time to reply as the voice he loved the most resounded.

“Killian?”

Turning around, he saw Emma, Liam and Henry on the docks and joined them, leaving Rumplestitskin behind. Like him a few minutes earlier, Liam had the hand on the hilt of his sword, and was standing ahead of Emma and the boy.

“Liam, I had told you...”

“Don't blame your brother, it's me. I convinced him we couldn't wait any longer. We needed to know you were alright.”

“Love, you should have stayed on the ship. What if the path had not been clear?”

“Then you’d have been in danger. I couldn’t wait any longer on board, not knowing what was going on.”

“Is the path clear?” asked Liam.

“Aye, it is.”

“Good. I'll go back on deck, ready to set sail in case we need to leave quickly.”

Killian nodded approvingly. “Lad, perhaps you should stay with Liam.”

“No!” protested Henry.

“You could help me get the ship ready to leave,” offered Liam.

“No,” repeated Henry before turning to Emma. “I want to come with you. You have your magic, and nothing bad can happen when we're with Rumplestiltskin.” Since she was remaining silent, obviously thinking, he added, “I'll find a way to come, even if you don't want me to.”

“Alright kid, you can come.”

“It’s time you meet him,” Killian said while lacing his fingers with her.

It was only when he led her to him that she understood why he was calling him the crocodile. Her fingers lightly tightened around Killian’s as she noticed how strange he looked.

They had barely reached him when Henry asked with a bright smile, “Are you going to help my mum?”

“Yes, I am,” he said, turning to Emma. “After all this time, how nice it is to finally meet you!”

“Careful, crocodile,” Killian said through gritted teeth, glaring at him.

Emma was still staring at him, examining his skin and wondering how a man could look like that. Since no one talked, Rumplestitskin held out his hands to her. “May I?”

Noticing the skin of his hands was the same as the one on his face, it took Emma some time to react. Tearing her gaze away, she looked up at Killian, wondering whether she should do what he seemed to want.

“What are you planning on doing?” asked Killian, his jaw still clenched.

“I need to know the extent of her power if you want me to help her.”

“You told me you already knew how powerful she is.”

“What I know is what I’ve seen in prophecies, but they can be unclear or misleading. I always check the facts by myself.”

This convinced Emma, who slowly stepped forward and placed her hands in his. She had expected something to happen, but she didn’t feel anything. But Rumplestitskin did feel something.

“Such a great potential!” he said, letting go of her hands.

“But I can’t control it. Can you help?”

“Yes. But here is not a safe place.”

With a move of the hand, he made the four of them disappear in a puff of smoke.


	8. Alternate Reality

Not expecting to disappear from the docks so suddenly, Emma quickly looked around and, with relief, saw that Killian and Henry were there as well.

“Where are we?” Emma asked Rumplestiltskin, looking around at the large room in which he had brought them.

“My mansion. I am not willing to see Regina today; like your ship, this place is protected. Now, let’s work on your magic. From what I’ve heard, it is useful only when you’re in a situation of great danger.”

“That was how it happened the first time. Regina was trying to rip my heart out. But she didn’t succeed, and there was this wave of magic which sent her away. I haven’t done anything, it just happened. But the next times, it was not when I was in danger, but when Killian was,” Emma explained, trying to be polite and not to stare at his skin too much.

“A magic powered by love; that’s quite the lovely tale.”

“And we’re not here to hear some poetry,” said Killian, glaring at the man. “Can you help her or not?”

“Patience, dearie.” Rumplestitskin turned to Emma again. “Is there any magic you can do without you or your pirate being threatened?”

“I’ve tried to learn how to control it. There are some objects that I can take without touching.”

“Summoning charms! Can I see?”

Emma closed her eyes and thought of Killian. At the moment when she felt his fingers brushing her palm and lacing with her own fingers, she felt his hook landing in her hand and opened her eyes again. Henry beamed as it was only the third time he was seeing her doing this, since she had mostly been locked up in the quarters when performing magic.

“A summoning charm indeed. We would need to work on your speed, but that’s already a start.”

“Working on her speed to remove my hook, is this really how you’re counting on helping her? I am not sure this’ll be of much help on the day when we face the Evil Queen again.”

“Dearie, magic is not something you can learn how to control in just a day. She won’t come back on your ship with her power in control.”

“Can you teach her how to do anything?” asked Henry.

“Yes, I can.”

“How much time will it take?” asked Emma.

“This entirely depends on you, dearie. To know exactly what your magic looks like, I’d like to test you.”

“What kind of test?” Killian asked immediately.

“The kind of test which requires me to be alone with your love.”

“No,” he replied instantly, his jaw clenched, looking daggers at Rumplestitskin who let out one of these creepy laughs.

“Ask yourself one question, pirate. Do you want me to help your love, or not?”

Not saying anything, Killian kept glaring at the man. Emma was watching both of them, disliking the idea of being away from Killian, but guessing working on her magic would not be easy and would probably need to be away from him sometimes.

It was Henry who talked first. “Killian, I think it’s okay.”

“You have a smart son, Emma,” Rumplestitskin commented.

But she wasn’t listening to him, too much focused on Killian who was gazing at her. “What do you want to do, love? Do you feel like going with him?”

Hesitating, Emma then sighed and nodded.

“What are you going to do with my mum?” asked Henry, curious.

“I’m going to test her magic abilities. It shouldn’t be too long. I can’t say more about it.”

“Is it safe?” Killian asked.

“I promise I will bring her back to you. Now,” Rumplestitskin turned to Emma again, “are you ready?”

Emma nodded, wondering what this test would be. “I’m ready.”

“You both stay here. Don’t touch anything. Henry, make sure the pirate behaves.”

The boy laughed, while the words had the opposite effect on Killian who glanced around, wondering what the Dark One could be hiding in the room. But his attention quickly came back to Emma.

“Come back to me as soon as you can,” he told her before kissing her cheek, his fingers brushing her palm as he let go of her.

Without any more word, Rumplestitskin disappeared with Emma in a puff of smoke.

The first thing Emma was aware of was the sound of running water around. With her heart skipping a beat, she looked down, she was standing on a plank of wood which was floating on water.

“What the hell are you doing?” Emma asked with a hint of panic in her voice.

Rumplestitskin sneered. He was standing on the shore of the river, holding his hand in the air with its palm facing the sky. Emma then realized her wood plank shouldn’t be stable, remaining like it was at the same spot while the water was running right under it; the Dark One probably was the one keeping it from following the flow.

“Can you see how the river ends behind you? There is a waterfall, something I wish you not to reach. Here is your test: when I stop holding the plank back, you will drift away. Stop it before you reach the waterfall, or you’ll drown.”

“Are you crazy?” Emma asked, giving into panic.

“You told me it happened only when you were in danger. I need to trigger your magic to know how I can help you control it.”

“You won’t be able to help me if I drown! You can’t do this! You promised Killian you’d bring me back to him.”

“But I didn’t say I’d bring you back alive. Good luck, Emma Swan. Only you can save yourself.”

Rumplestitskin closed his fingers and suddenly the plank drifted.

“Don’t do this! How am I supposed to stop it?”

“Don’t think about how,” said Rumplestitskin, walking along the shore. “Think about _why_ you want to do this. Ask yourself one question: why do you want to survive?”

“It won’t tell me how to stop it!” Emma shouted, while getting closer and closer to the waterfall.

“Stop thinking! Conjuring magic isn’t intellectual endeavor. It’s emotion. Feel it! The only thing you’re allowed to think about is this: what would your pirate and your son do if you didn’t come back? How desperate would they be?”

Killian’s words came back to her; she knew what he’d tell her. He’d say she could do it. He would believe in her like he always had. Thinking of him, she imagined being back in his arms how good it’d feel to be in his embrace. But it wasn’t enough to trigger her magic. She was now seconds away from the cliff.

“Do it! Save yourself before it’s too late!”

Emma shut her eyes closed and let her thoughts take her back to the previous night; it couldn’t have been the last one, she would come back to him, she had to believe. But suddenly she felt like she was falling. If she wanted to be in his embrace again, she had to act now. She needed to get out of this river before reaching the bottom of the cliff. And then it happened: she felt like she was going up again. Indeed, the plank of wood was lifting her up and she watched as she was going up the waterfall. She needed to land on the shore, not into the water or it would bring her back down. The plank of wood seemed to listen and she landed on the shore opposite Rumplestitskin.

“Did I… Did I just do that?” asked Emma, amazed by what had just happened.

“Yes, you did. You passed the test, and I now know how to help you.”

Though mad at the Dark One for putting her in such a situation, she smiled as she thought of this day when Killian had walked the plank to trigger her magic and had come back awestruck by his experience, asking whether they could do it again.

“Time to take you back to your pirate,” Rumplestitskin said with a move of the hand.

The pirate in question was examining the different objects stored on shelves but quickly stopped when he heard them appear.

“Emma, love! Are you alright?” he asked, running to her and cupping her cheek, Henry following him closely.

“I’m fine!” She flashed him a bright smile and her hand covered his. “It worked!”

“I had told you not to touch anything,” interrupted Rumplestitskin, examining the shelves.

“The best way to get a pirate to do something is to tell him not to.” Killian turned to Emma again. “You’ve been able to use your magic?”

“Yes! By thinking of you,” she said with a bright smile before pulling him to her and kissing him.

“What was the test? What did you do with your magic?” Henry asked, cheerfulness tinting his voice like most of the time.

Emma bit her lip while looking at her son. She was so delighted to have used her magic again that she was unable to blame Rumplestitskin. But she guessed Killian wouldn’t approve of it so easily.

“Do you remember this day when you walked the plank to trigger my magic? The test looked a lot like it.”

Killian’s eyebrows creased. “What did you do?”

Looking up at him, Emma bit her lip again, not feeling like lying. “I was on this plank of wood, getting closer to a waterfall. I had to trigger my magic or I would have drowned.”

The pirate looked daggers at the Dark One and asked, his jaw clenched. “Is this how you’re helping her?”

“If you walked the plank to trigger her magic, you should approve of my methods.”

“ _She_ wasn’t in danger. _I_ was the one walking the plank.”

“Killian, look at me,” Emma said, cupping his cheek and making him look down at her. “It’s fine.”

“No, love, it’s not. You were in danger, that’s not fine.”

“But mum, you weren’t truly in danger.” Henry turned to Rumplestitskin. “You would have saved her, right?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t let your mother die.” The Dark One looked up at Emma. “Telling you only you could save yourself only meant to give you the required motivation to use your magic.”

“Are you saying you wouldn’t truly put her in danger?” asked Killian, doubtful.

“Never have I seen such a powerful magic. Putting Emma in danger would just be a waste of ability. She needs to be protected.”

“So you’re caring about her only for her power,” summarized Killian.

“Caring about her for love is your job. Mine is to help her with her magic. We still agree on one point: Emma needs to be kept safe.”

“I can take care of myself,” said Emma, only expecting from the Dark One to help her control her magic. “You said you knew how you wanted to help me. How?”

“And you better not risk her life again,” insisted Killian.

“I won’t. We’ll use something called alternate reality, a place where your mind will travel and make you see things which are not real. This means that anything happening there won’t have any consequence on reality. But it will look true to you, which should be enough to trigger your magic. I will give you more details about it tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Alternate realities don’t just come out of nowhere, dearie. There are things I need to prepare. Come back tomorrow and,…” Rumplestitskin paused, looking over their shoulders. “Milah, what are you doing here? I’ve already told you not to come when I have guests.”

“Who is she?” Emma whispered, standing close to Killian.

“His wife,” he whispered back.

“I wanted to clean the room like you asked, but I will come back later.”

Despite her words, the woman lingered there, and Emma disliked the way she was staring at Killian. She shifted closer to him and possessively reached for his hand while frowning at the Dark One’s wife. Milah left and Rumplestitskin came back to what he was saying.

“Tomorrow, call me and I’ll come to bring you here. Like we’ve done today: we need to limit as much as possible the time you spend out of the protection spell.”

A few seconds later, Henry, Killian and Emma were back on the docks. As soon as he realized where they were, Killian quickly brought them to the ship.

“This was bloody dangerous, he could have sent us back directly on deck,” Killian said once they were on board.

“I don’t think he could. He probably still doesn’t know where exactly the ship is,” Henry replied.

Killian tilted his head on one side. “Point taken, lad.”

“Are you all right?” asked Liam, running to them.

“Yes! Rumplestitskin is going to help mum with her magic,” said the boy before glancing at Killian and Emma. “I’ve told you he would!”

“How did he help?”

Emma told the story, giving details about how she had found herself on this plank of wood drifting along the river, getting closer and closer to the waterfall, and how at the last moment her magic had been triggered.

“This was not right to do that,” commented Killian.

“But it worked, that’s the most important.”

“Emma, Killian is right. You shouldn’t put your life in danger to trigger your magic,” said Liam. He turned to his brother before adding, “And neither should you.”

“Rumplestitskin only made me _believe_ I was in danger. I think he would have done something if I had been unable to use my magic. He said I needed to be protected.”

“Did he say why?” asked Liam. “I know there’s some discord between him and the Evil Queen, but is that enough to put so much effort into protecting and helping you? Or is there something else that he wants?”

“He told me he wouldn’t ask for anything in return. Lad, do you think that’s possible?”

“He’s been helping me a lot, he never asked me for anything.”

“I know when someone is lying to me. I think he was being honest. He said he had never seen such a powerful magic. He just seems curious about it.”

“And thinks it’d be a waste to lose someone with such potential,” added Killian. “I’d say this isn’t an honorable reason, but this is why he wants to protect her.”

“And you’re planning on going back tomorrow?”

“Yes. And this time, I won’t be in danger. Today was a test. But tomorrow we’ll use something he called alternate reality. Whatever happens won’t happen for real. It’s safe.”

* * *

“Killian?” Emma called. She was already in bed, watching him while waiting for him to join her. There was a question she hadn’t got the occasion to ask him yet. “This woman, Rumplestitskin’s wife, have you ever met her before?”

“Milah? Aye. When I asked for his help to find you, after Regina had taken you away from me for the second time, she was there.” One of his eyebrows was raised as he was surprised by her question. “Why are you asking this?”

“Because…” She felt her cheeks warming up, realizing how she would sound. “I didn’t like the way she was looking at you.”

“How was she looking at me?” he asked with a crooked smile, not taking his eyes off of her while going to bed.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”

“What if I told you exactly that?”

“Did you really not notice she was looking at you… the same way I’ve been looking at you when we met?”

“Was she?” he asked with an eyebrow raised. “I truly didn’t notice, my apologies for this. For my excuse, the most beautiful woman, the one I love, was standing by my side, and I was probably too busy staring at her to notice anyone else.”

“Killian…” she said with a smile, shaking her head.

“Aye?”

Her hands landing on his shoulders, she pulled herself to him and kissed him. “I love you.”

“Not more than I love you.” Gazing into her eyes, he then softly took her hand. “Emma, I can see this is troubling you but, no matter how she, or anyone else, looks at me, you should know you’re the only one who will ever catch my eye. You do not have to worry.”

“Would you like it if there was a man looking at me the way you do?”

“Nope, not at all,” he replied with a smirk. “I guess the pirate is as possessive as his princess.”

“Come here,” she giggled and pulled him down to her.

* * *

Alternate reality; holding onto the railing, blankly gazing at the ocean, Emma was lost in her thoughts. Until then, she had just been thinking of the fact nothing happening there would be real. But now that the time to go to Rumplestitskin was coming, she was wondering what exactly he had in store for her.

Warm arms wrapping around her waist pulled her out of her thoughts, and Killian whispered in her ear, “Are you alright? You look thoughtful.”

“Yes. I’m just wondering how he will help me with my magic.” Letting go of the railing, she leant into his embrace, holding onto his arms, and sighed before admitting, “I’m worried.”

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. His methods may be more efficient, but we can do it together. If we don’t call him, he won’t even be able to find us. Love, we don’t need to see him again. If you want to, we can sail away.”

Leaning into him, she considered the option, tempted to accept it. But she thought of the Evil Queen and then took her decision. “She could find us anytime. The sooner I can control my magic, the better.”

“As you wish, love.”

She turned in his arms and kissed him. “Let’s go.”

The organization was the same as the day before: Liam stayed on the Jolly Roger, keeping the ship ready to leave if needed. Killian was obviously coming along with Emma, and Henry insisted to do the same.

“Rumplestitskin!” called Killian as soon as they were on the docks.

The Dark One appeared and immediately brought them to his mansion. Different items were placed on the table; items which made Killian suspiciously look at Rumplestitskin.

“How is this alternate reality thing working?”

“Patience, pirate. I’m about to give more details. First, I need to finish this.”

Rumplestitskin took one of the small bottles which was on the table, and added its purple content to an already half-filled phial. He shook it and the mixture became translucent.

“Now, it’s ready.”

“What is it for?” Killian asked, still suspiciously looking at the different bottles on the table.

“How do you think Emma will go to this alternate reality?” asked the Dark One.

“How am I supposed to be sure this is safe?” Killian instantly replied, pulling her closer.

“Do you really think I'd poison her in front of her son?”

“So my mum will drink this potion and it’ll take her to the alternate reality?”

“Exactly, dearie. But only her mind will travel there. She will physically stay here. Emma, the potion will create this alternate reality reflecting some of your deepest fears. Emotion should trigger your magic.”

“When will she awake?” asked Killian.

“When she decides to.”

“And how do I do that?”

“This is not something you will control, dearie. Don’t worry about this, I can also wake you up. Or more exactly, your true love can. Speaking of this, pirate: you and Henry will stay in the room on the other side of this room.”

“Why?” Killian instantly asked.

“I don’t want any of you to disrupt the proceedings.”

“What if she needs me to awake her?”

“Then I will come and ask for your intervention,” the Dark One replied, causing him to clench his jaw.

“Killian, it’s fine,” she said, looking into his eyes with her hand on his cheek. She then turned to the Dark One. “If I got it well, all I have to do is to drink this potion, and let whatever happens in this alternate reality trigger my magic?”

“That’s right, dearie. I will also use this,” he said while taking on the table another one of the items which Emma instantly recognized as a dreamcatcher. “With this, I will record everything that’s happening inside your mind. We’ll then be able to work on whatever happened in this alternate reality. And everything I’ve told you now, you will normally forget now you’re there. It will look real to you. Now, follow me.”

Emma started to follow Rumplestitskin but Killian stopped her.

“Love, you know you still have a choice. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“There is no choice to be made if I want to control my magic. I have to do this.” She tiptoed and quickly kissed his lips. “I love you.”

Henry led Killian to the other room while Emma followed Rumplestitskin to the couch in the corner of the room.

“Drink this and lie down. You will fall asleep very quickly.”

The phial in one hand, the dreamcatcher in the other, Rumplestitskin settled himself on a stool while she sat down on the couch. He handed her the potion and she stared at him, trying to find any hint of a lie. But there was none; all he had said seemed to be true. Seizing the phial, she took a deep breath before opening it and, after glancing at the door behind which Killian was, she drank it. The bitter taste of the potion didn’t annoy her very long since she barely had time to lie down before falling asleep.

Emma found herself in a forest. There was something oppressive about this place, and it took her only a few seconds to figure out what it was: she had come to this forest one day in summer, when she was just a little girl. Memories resurfaced, and she then perfectly remembered how, after another foster family had given her up, she had run away from the orphanage where she had been taken in. The first bus she had found had led her out of town, to this forest. Quickly, she had lost herself. After hours spent wandering, she had wanted to go back to the orphanage, but had been unable to find her way back. It had only been on the next day, after a cold night spent outside, that hunters had found her and called the police to take her back into the foster system.

Facing the crossroads she had been facing twenty years earlier, and with all these memories in mind, she felt her heart thumping in her chest, and her hands shaking. She had to choose a path, but like years before, she had no clue about where to go. She remembered choosing to go straight ahead, and it had got her lost. This time, she picked the left path. She didn’t know where she was going; the only thing she was aware of was that she needed to go somewhere, to keep walking and get out of this forest. But with every step, the fear she might be on the wrong path was growing stronger. It was after another crossing that she heard footsteps and, before she had time to avoid the newcomer, he was there, standing in the middle of the path.

“Henry!” she said with relief.

“We need to talk,” the boy replied.

“We can talk later, we need to go back to the ship.” The Jolly Roger; she suddenly remembered where she was willing to go. She held out her hand to him. “Come on.”

“I’m not coming with you.”

“What? Why?”

There was something different about him. Perhaps it was the absence of smile on his features; he was usually so cheerful.

“Why would I go with you?” he asked, giving her an aloof look she had until then never witnessed.

“Because I’m your mother,” she said, disconcerted. “Come on, let’s go back to the ship.”

“I already have a mother.”

“Henry, what are you talking about?” This unexpected conversation was making the situation even more stressful. “She’s the Evil Queen, you dislike her. You told me that.”

“I don’t dislike her as much as I dislike you,” he replied bluntly, keeping his distance.

“Henry…”

But the boy didn’t stop. “You’re not better than her. Why would I choose you? You never forgave your parents for giving you up, but then you did the same thing to me. You chose to give me up. And because of you, I had to spend my life with the Evil Queen as my mother. I will never forgive you.”

“Henry, please,” she implored, tears starting to roll down her cheeks, her hands shaking even more. “I will do everything I can to make up for it.”

“It is too late. There’s nothing you can do. I won’t ever forgive you. You’re just not worth it. This is why you are and will always be an orphan; this is all you deserve. You don’t deserve Killian. You don’t deserve to be loved.”

Tears were now streaming down her face, her heart thumping harder than ever in her chest, her hands warming up. Glancing down at her hands, this was when she saw the flares; it was like a golden light was issuing from them.

“What is happening to me?” She shook her hands, trying to put the flares out, but they only seemed to intensify. She then realized it made no sense. “How are you here?”

“I am here because here is where you are.”

“This isn’t really you,” Emma said.

“What are you saying?”

Emma was confused, but she knew she was with Killian now, in the Enchanted Forest; far away from this forest where she had lost herself when she was a child. There was no way she or her son could really be there. And her son would never talk to her this way. He had chosen her, he had escaped the Evil Queen with the help of Rumplestitskin. Rumplestitskin; suddenly it came back to her.

“Alternate reality. This isn’t really you,” she repeated. “You’re just the reflection of my deepest fears. This is not real, this is all happening inside my head.”

“Of course it is happening inside your head, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

“Because you’re not truly here,” said Emma.

“This doesn’t change a thing. It is real because, deep down, you know everything I’ve said is true.”

“Shut up!” she shouted, and a bright golden streak of light came out of her hands.

Emma opened her eyes and noted with relief that she was back on the couch, in Rumplestitskin’s mansion. Not over what had just happened, she wiped away the tears and tried to steady her breathing. But then she noticed the stool was knocked over and the dreamcatcher was lying broken on the floor, and panic struck again.

“Rumplestitskin?” she asked.

She quickly checked: the door to the room where Killian and Henry were was still closed; they were probably still inside. But she barely had time to get up before a voice turned her blood to ice.

“I doubt Rumplestitskin can help you from where he is. Actually, no one can help you.”

Emma turned around and saw the Evil Queen standing next to the table, examining the different small bottles the Dark One had used to prepare the potion.

“What did you do to them?” she asked, feeling like choking because of the lump in her throat.

“Did you really think I would let you escape twice, and then kidnap my son, without getting revenge?”

“Wait, how can you be here? The mansion is protected by a spell.”

Emma was hopefully thinking she wasn’t awake yet, that she was still in this alternate reality and nothing of this was happening for real, but the Evil Queen laughed.

“Do not underestimate me. It was only a matter of time before I could go through this protection spell. How else would I be here?”

“You’re not here, that’s my point,” said Emma, trying to convince herself. “This is like Henry, he wasn’t truly there; he was just the reflection of my deepest fears.”

Regina laughed even more.

“Whatever you’re doing with Rumplestitskin is not bringing you anything good. You’re even more stupid than before. But what is it exactly that you’re doing with him?” she asked to herself, still examining the small bottles. She then smirked as she seemed to recognize the assortment of ingredients. “Alternate reality. Would you have some problems with your magic?”

Emma didn’t reply anything. Ignoring how fast her heart was beating, she was trying to figure out a way to escape this.

Not getting any answer, Regina went on. “I think you’ve heard of your dear parents, Snow White and Prince Charming?”

“You know,” Emma said. “You know I’m their daughter.”

The Evil Queen smirked again, delighted to see the fear on Emma’s features. “Of course I know. And you and your pirate are about to know the same fate.”

“So you’re going to kill me?”

“Not exactly, it’d be too easy for you. You took my son. You took the most precious thing I’ve had. And I’ll return you the favor.”

“No!” she shouted before realizing her mistake: the door behind her opened.

“Emma?”

“Killian, no!” she gestured him to go back to the room, but he didn’t comply. His hand on the hilt of his sword, he came to stand beside her, glaring at the Evil Queen. Emma guessed he had told Henry to stay hidden in the room, but she wished he had stayed there as well.

“Captain, you’re arriving right in time,” Regina said.

Suddenly, it was like she was pulling on some invisible rope as she summoned Killian to her. Emma ran after him to try and stop him, but with a move of the hand, Regina sent her away before she could reach him. Emma looked down at her hands, which were flaring again; now was the time to use her magic. But she didn’t know how. All she knew was that she needed to hurry.

Killian yelled with pain and, horrified, Emma saw Regina holding him with one arm around his shoulders, squeezing his heart in her hand.

“Stop!” Emma shouted and a bright wave of light left her.

The streak of magic reached the point right behind Killian, where the Evil Queen was standing. But she disappeared right in time to avoid it and appeared at the other end of the room, a smirk on her lips. Several waves of light left Emma, but each time, Regina was disappearing right in time to escape it, her fingers still squeezing his heart, the pirate standing in the middle of the room, too much in pain to even move.

Giving up on her method, tears streaming down her face, Emma ran to the man she loved and wrapped her arms around him, willing to ease his pain.

“Killian, you have to hold on. I can’t lose you.”

Fighting the pain, Killian lifted his hand to her cheek. But he didn’t have her attention yet, as she was still trying to fight Regina. Instead of trying to strike her as she had been doing until then, she was trying to summon his heart. She tried as hard as she could, but the Evil Queen kept moving, and the heart remained squeezed into her hand.

“It’s time,” Regina sneered. “Time to say goodbye!”

“No! You’re not taking the people I love!”

Another streak of golden light left Emma but missed the Evil Queen.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Regina asked with a laugh.

“Protecting the people I love.” She made another attempt but, again, she missed.

“You can’t stop me.”

“Don’t do this!” begged Emma, more tears rolling down her cheeks.

“It’s okay,” said Killian, making her look into his eyes.

“I don’t want to lose you.”

“I don’t want to lose you. But you have to let me go.”

“What about our future?”

“I’ll just be happy knowing that you have one. With your son,” he managed to say despite the pain. “I want you to move on. Save your son, sail away. Live your life, even if it’s without me.”

“That’s not enough for me! Killian, I’m so sorry, it all happened because of me. If I hadn’t come into your life…”

“I’d rather die now, than live a hundred years without knowing you. I love you.”

Killian captured her lips and, feeling the pain intensifying, leant his forehead against hers, his hand slipping from her cheek to her neck. Her fingers closed on his collar, Emma shut her eyes closed, thinking of his heart and trying to summon it. Her hand was outstretched in his back and, every second, she was hoping she would feel it land there. But it didn’t happen; her hand was in contact with nothing but thin air.

Suddenly, a whine escaped Killian and he became heavier. Emma knew it could only mean one thing; it was too late.

“Killian, no. Please don’t leave me, you have to stay.”

The Evil Queen said she had won and she always would, but Emma barely heard her. Nor did she register her words about how she would see her again to take her son back.

Tightly holding onto Killian, Emma was exhausted and didn’t have enough strength to carry him. She kneeled to lay him down on the floor, and sobbed when she saw him looking like he simply was peacefully asleep. Caressing his cheek and placing her hand in his neck, she rested her head over his chest, crying her eyes out.


	9. The Dreamcatcher

Sobbing, Emma was holding onto Killian. The shock of losing him had been so violent that she couldn’t realize what had happened. She was unable to think, and had no idea about what she was supposed to do or where she would go. She could only feel like there was something missing; things like his warm arms tenderly holding her against him, or like the regular sound of his beating heart. More tears rolled down her cheeks. Memories of her life on board with him played in her mind and she held onto him even tighter.

These memories were so vivid she could even imagine the warmth of his fingers on her cheek, or the softness of his warm lips pressing against hers. The warmth spread in her whole body and, when it reached her hands, made them flare. Out of her control, the golden light intensified and became so bright that it blanketed their two bodies and blinded her. She felt dizzy, and slowly lost all tactile feeling; she couldn’t feel him under her anymore. The only remaining feeling was the warmth of his touch offered by her imagination, on her cheek and on her lips. The dizziness was peaceful and let her focus on these warm spots. Despite the numbness of her body, she managed to reach for her cheek and delightedly noticed that her imagination was even offering her the touch of his fingers; she could feel them under her hand. While the feeling of his fingers on her cheek lingered, the warmth on her parted lips faded away. Air then suddenly filled her lungs as she took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and her breath caught.

“Killian!”

All she was seeing was him. She reached up for his face, cupping his cheeks, her fingertips following the lines of his face. One of her hands slipped in the back of his head, her fingers threading through his strands. Her imagination couldn’t have created an illusion which looked so real; he seemed to be truly there.

“It’s all right, love. I’m here,” he said while caressing her cheek, in the meantime making her realize she hadn’t imagined the warmth of his fingers.

“How?” Emma was confused, but she didn’t want to come out of this state, as she was afraid he would just disappear if she did. “I don’t understand.”

“Alternate reality, Miss Swan,” said a male voice.

This was when Emma realized that, behind Killian who was kneeling beside the couch on which she was laying down, Rumplestitskin and Henry were there as well. The dreamcatcher was in Rumplestitskin’s hands, and it looked intact. Emma glanced around: she was in this room where just a few minutes earlier, the Evil Queen had taken Killian away from her; on this couch on which she had fallen asleep after drinking this potion. The potion had taken her to an alternate reality; could it be that she was coming back only now? She looked back at Killian, still not sure she could believe he was there.

“You were not coming back,” he said. “So I woke you up.”

She thought of how the warm feeling of his fingers on her cheek hadn’t been the fruit of her imagination, and gathered the feeling of his lips pressing against hers hadn’t been either. Reminded of how the warmth had then been spreading through her whole body, she wondered if it had simply been magic awaking her.

“True love’s kiss?” she asked.

Killian nodded and she got lost in his eyes which were so tenderly locked on hers. It was only when he wiped her tears away that she realized they had kept rolling down her cheeks all this time.

“Love, it’s all right. It’s over, now. Whatever happened there wasn’t real.”

“It was real, dearie,” corrected Rumplestitskin. “Alternate, but still real.”

Killian turned around to glare at the man. “You know what I mean.”

By the time he turned back to her, Emma felt more tears silently roll down and she flattened her lips before sharing these thoughts which were haunting her. “I’ve just watched you die.”

Killian’s lips parted, betraying the fact he was obviously not aware about it.

“My love…” Brushing her cheek with the back of his fingers, he then slipped his arm in her back and hugged her. “You don’t have to worry, I’m here.”

She tightly wrapped her arms around him and tucked her face in his neck. “How can I be sure this reality is the one we belong to? What if I wake up and go back to this reality where I’ve lost you? It looked so real.”

“I’m afraid the only thing you can do is to trust me. Believe me when I say this place is the one where we belong. I’m here and I’m fine, with you.” His lips tenderly captured hers and soon, the kiss became passionate. Breathless, he leant his forehead against hers. “Could a kiss feel so good in any other reality?”

“Probably not,” she said, willing to believe him.

He kissed her cheek before taking her hand to make her sit up. “It’s alright, love. It’s over.”

Rumplestitskin sneered. “Actually, it’s not. This was only the first step.”

“Don’t you think she’s been through enough already for today?” Killian asked, looking daggers at him, keeping her hand in his.

“You asked for my help, this is what I’m offering you.”

“What is step two?” Emma sighed.

“Love, you don’t have to listen to him.”

“I know. But I need to control my magic as soon as possible; I have to try.” She glanced at Rumplestitskin. “What is step two?”

“You’re a brave woman, Emma Swan. Step two involves this dreamcatcher. It has recorded everything that has happened in this alternate reality. I have seen everything while you were there, but I now want you to watch it. I want you to think of how you felt when you performed magic. If you can feel it, you’ll be able to use it whenever you want.”

Emma gulped at the thought of having to go through this again and Killian raised an inquiring eyebrow, making sure she truly wanted to do this.

“You’re here with me, I’ll be fine,” she said. She then turned to her son. “Henry, I prefer you to go to this other room where you stayed with Killian.”

The boy, who had remained silent until then, frowned. “Why?”

“Henry, please. There’s nothing good for you to see in this dreamcatcher.”

He seemed to understand and, without any opposition, went to the room. Rumplestitskin led Killian and Emma to the table. Sitting between the two men, Emma was staring at the dreamcatcher. Killian didn’t say anything, but he was not taking his eyes off of her for a second, making sure she was willing to watch whatever had been recorded by the object. Since she seemed determined, he didn’t try to question her decision.

With a move of the hand, Rumplestitskin made the dreamcatcher glow. The golden circle of light turned into the image of a forest. Her eyes locked on the dreamcatcher, Emma squeezed Killian’s hand under the table as she watched herself pick the left path.

“What is this place?” asked Killian, curious to know whether she had ever been there.

“I got lost in this forest when I was a child. But that’s not the worst part about it.”

Emma kept watching, knowing what was about to happen. This was the reason why she had wanted her son to go back to the other room: Henry could never know about this; about what, deep down, she was afraid of. Soon, Henry indeed arrived on the path in front of her and she watched herself talking to him. She flattened her lips when she heard him say he was not coming with her. By the time he compared her to the Evil Queen, Killian had passed his arm around her shoulders while keeping her hand in his to pull her closer, her head leaning against his shoulder, his cheek against the top of her head.

“Do you remember feeling your hands shaking?” the Dark One asked.

“Yes. They were shaking more and more, and getting warmer.”

“This is the moment when your magic was triggered; anything you may have felt at this moment, you must remember it. Your son’s words hurt you deep down and awoke all this power you have inside.”

“She has already used her magic. It is not the first time her hands are flaring like this,” Killian reminded him, indicating the golden light coming from her hands. “Wasn’t her power already awaken?”

“The fact she can’t use her magic whenever she wants means that her magic is somehow locked. See it as a box: her power is contained inside a box, deep down, that she is unconsciously keeping closed. Occasionally, the box had been opened. But when her emotions don’t allow it, she can’t reach this box. The training I’m offering her aims at facilitating her access to this box,” Rumplestitskin explained. “Can you see the light? It is already bright, and this is still nothing compared to the light she produced later.”

Emma kept her eyes locked on the dreamcatcher, watching her hands flaring. Hearing the boy’s words brought her close to tears.

“My love, I can assure you this is not the way your boy thinks. You’re infinitely better than her, and he knows it.”

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

“Fears are not that easy to control. This alternate reality exposed Miss Swan’s deepest fears quite clearly,” said Rumplestitskin before addressing Emma. “Haunted by your past, and afraid of not being able to protect your loved ones, it is obvious that whenever facing your deepest fears, you will always lose the ones you love the most.”

Thinking of how she had failed at stopping the Evil Queen because she hadn’t been fast enough with her magic to reach her, more tears threatened to come. The dreamcatcher showed Emma waking up, alone, on the couch, with the dreamcatcher lying broken on the floor.

“What is this?” he asked.

“The worst part. And it looked so real. I thought I was truly awake.”

“This is why this alternate reality is so powerful,” commented Rumplestitskin. “Surprisingly, you did remember with Henry that you were in an alternate reality, and you doubted again when facing Regina.”

“But then she convinced me I was wrong, and I even forgot about the possibility.”

“There is nothing more complicated than the mind and this is what gives this alternate reality all its power; it’s all happening in the head, and the mind tricks itself. The part in the forest revealed your fear of rejection. But you realized it wasn’t your reality, and the alternate reality took the game to the next level: it tricked you, taking you, from a forest where you’ve been when you were a child, to the exact place where you were supposed to awake: here.”

Regina mentioned Snow’s parents and then, Killian entered the room. Not ready to watch this scene again, Emma pressed her forehead against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

“That’s enough,” Killian said, pushing the dreamcatcher away.

“What do you think you’re doing?” asked the Dark One.

“That’s enough,” Killian repeated. “She’s been through enough, you can’t ask her to watch this now. It’s too soon.”

Emma kept her forehead pressed against his shoulder, feeling thankful that he was always so attentive. She indeed didn’t feel like she could watch him die again.

“Miss Swan needs to know what she wants.”

“I want to control my magic, but right now I want to have a break.” Emma glanced at the dreamcatcher which had stopped glowing. “How do you activate that thing? How can I do it myself?”

“You just have to want it, dearie. You’ve found a way to perform these summoning charms. Until now, you’ve had this problem to trigger your magic, but after seeing the raw power you possess, I think you can easily do it. Remember how it feels to use your magic. Every time you did, you’ve focused. You’ve let emotions awaken your power. Now, you have to look inward.”

Keeping her hand in Killian’s, Emma closed her eyes and focused, thinking of the warmth she had felt spreading through her body. When she opened her eyes, the dreamcatcher was glowing.

“I did it,” she said, sounding surprised as every time she managed to perform magic.

“This is what I was talking about. Your power is locked inside a box that training will allow you to open more easily.”

The forest appeared and, not willing to see this again, she closed her eyes. The light faded away. Satisfied, Emma looked at Rumplestitskin.

“If the next step of the training involves watching this, let me bring it back with me and I’ll watch it later. Send us back to our ship and we’ll call you again tomorrow.”

Killian proudly looked at the one he loved, enjoying the commanding tone she had just used to address the Dark One.

“I’m getting the lad,” he said before standing up and going to the other room.

“Remember,” said Rumplestitskin, handing Emma the dreamcatcher. “All you have to do is to think of how it felt to perform magic.”

Killian came back with Henry, and without any more discussion, Rumplestitskin sent the three of them back to the docks.

* * *

“You’re ready, love?”

Sitting on his lap, holding the dreamcatcher in front of her, Emma nodded. Hours had passed since Rumplestitskin had sent them back to the ship and they were now in their quarters. Emma closed her eyes and, once again, the forest appeared.

The more Henry was talking, the tighter Killian’s embrace was. Emma tried to ignore his words and focused on how she had felt when her hands had been flaring. Concentrated, she started with surprise when she heard a loud thump behind her. Both she and Killian turned around. The thump had been caused by the book Henry had dropped. His eyes were locked on the dreamcatcher.

“Henry, what are you doing here?” Emma asked. “You were not supposed to see this.”

“I’ve finished reading this book. I just wanted to take another one.”

He picked up the one he had dropped and quickly went to the shelves. Randomly picking another book, he headed back to the door.

“Kid, are you okay?”

“Yes. Sorry, I should have knocked.”

Emma followed him with her eyes as he left the quarters.

“Worry not, love. He will be fine.”

“How much of it do you think he’s heard?”

“I don’t know, but he’s aware this is not true.”

Willing to believe him, Emma let him convince her and focused back on the dreamcatcher. It was now showing Regina making her believe they were not in an alternate reality.

“How did you know?” asked Killian. “The crocodile said you wouldn’t realize it wasn’t the real reality. But with Henry, you did. And with the Evil Queen, you had doubts again.”

Emma smiled softly, leaning into him. “At first I didn’t know. I was in this forest and I didn’t know what I was doing there, or where I was going. But then I realized nothing made sense. Do you know how I realized?”

Killian shook his head and pressed his cheek against hers. “How?”

“I thought of you,” she said, her hand reaching for his cheek and pulled him even more against her. “I thought of our love, and it all became clear: it couldn’t be real.”

His hand covered hers. “You’ve handled this alternate reality amazingly.”

Emma didn’t reply anything. Her eyes were locked on the dreamcatcher, and on Killian’s heart in the Evil Queen’s hand. A tear silently rolled down her cheek. Killian watched the multiple waves of light magic she had sent.

“You’re so powerful,” he said, amazed.

“Every attempt to stop her, I’ve failed,” she said, tears filling her eyes as she was seeing him suffer. Her hands warmed up and she put them together to try and conceal the flares. She then shifted on his lap to hide her face against his shoulder. “I can’t watch this.”

Hugging her, Killian kept staring at the dreamcatcher, which was showing them leaning forehead to forehead. When he saw Emma lying him down on the floor, he tightened his embrace and clenched his jaw, thinking of how the crocodile had made her go through this. In the alternate reality, her hands started to flare.

“What’s happening?”

Emma glanced at the dreamcatcher. “That’s when I was waking up.”

“I’ve never seen it shine so brightly,” he said, watching the light intensify.

She remembered being blinded by the light and tilted her head, the tears stopping as she examined the dreamcatcher; the light became so bright that the dreamcatcher was then simply glowing.

“I didn’t know the light was real, I thought it was just because I was feeling dizzy. The only feeling I had was the warmth of your fingers on my cheek, and of your lips on mine. I thought I was imagining it. Then, I woke up.”

“The kiss,” Killian said. “I did kiss you to wake you up.”

“I know, and that’s from this moment that I’ve felt the warmth spreading, and there was all this light.”

“Well, you know what’s written in all these books about magic: true love is the most powerful magic of all.”

Keeping her hands together because they were still flaring, Emma smiled despite a thought which was annoying her; something which had been said in this alternate reality.

“This wasn’t in our reality, but there is a part of truth: if something bad happened, it would be my fault. If you hadn’t met me, you would be safe. Since the beginning, my presence on board had put you in danger.”

“Emma, listen to your words. There is indeed a part of truth in what has been told: I’d rather die tomorrow than live a hundred years without knowing you. But you don’t have to worry, because I don’t intend to die tomorrow.”

“She could come anytime, because of me, because of Henry. You being with us…”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” he interrupted, keeping his eyes locked on her. “My love, you have to realize that, no matter how great the danger is, falling in love with you is the best thing that has ever happened to me. My life before you may have been safer, but even if I could, I wouldn’t go back there. Finding you made me realize that, until then, I was kind of lost, I didn’t know where I was going. But after all those years living in a blur, you’re here and it’s crystal clear: I’m where I’m meant to go.”

Emma was gazing at him, lips parted and speechless. Killian glanced down at her hands between which the flares were still visible. She drowned into his eyes full of love as soon as he looked up. Since she wasn’t saying anything, he went on.

“After all those years, at last I see the light, and it’s like the fog has lifted. I see the light and life feels real and bright. Everything is different now that I’m with you, and I wouldn’t trade any of this for anything.”

Drowning in love and still speechless, Emma wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She had heard him but, still not understanding how he could think she deserved all of his love, she couldn’t find anything to reply.

“Never blame yourself again for entering my life,” Killian said, his forehead against hers.

“I’ll try.” His words had been clear: he wanted her in his life, no matter what. The thought made her smile. She kissed his cheek and hugged him. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

Thinking of how glad she was that this reality was the one she belonged to, she stayed in his arms for another moment, before finally opening her eyes and loosening her embrace. Her hands had stopped flaring.

“I need to talk to Henry, about what he’s seen.”

“If I’m not here, I’ll be on deck,” Killian said, flashing her a smile.

Smiling back, she pecked her lips and left the quarters. Now that the sailors had left the ship, Henry was no longer sharing Liam’s cabin but was occupying the crew’s cabin. Emma barely had time to knock on the door when it swung open.

“Mum!” Henry unexpectedly ran into her to hug her tightly. “I didn’t want to bother you while you were with Killian, that’s why I didn’t tell you earlier, but I can tell you now: what happened in this alternate reality, what you heard me say, it’s not true.”

“I know, kid. That’s what I wanted to talk about.” She led him inside the room and they sat down on a bunk. “How much of it have you seen?”

“Enough to tell you that it’s all wrong.” Seeing how Emma twisted her lips, obviously wishing he hadn’t seen any of it, Henry added, “I’m sorry. I just wanted to take another book, but then I’ve heard my voice and I was curious to see where it was coming from. It’s the first time I see a magic dreamcatcher.”

“That’s okay, kid. You don’t have to justify yourself.”

“But I should have knocked.”

“Maybe. But that’s not why I came here. What you’ve seen in this dreamcatcher, it happened in a reality which is not ours,” she started to explain.

“Mum, I know what alternate reality means,” Henry interrupted with a smirk on his lips. “I was there when Rumplestitskin explained. But I was also there when he said this alternate reality would reflect your deepest fears. And that’s what I wanted to tell you: everything you’ve heard me say in this alternate reality, it’s all wrong. Never would I tell you that you’re not better than Regina, or that you don’t deserve to be loved, because this is not true. You have to believe in me.”

“Henry, I do believe in you. It’s in me I don’t have faith.”

“You should.”

“Killian always says that.”

“Then if you won’t listen to me, listen to him.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Why?” asked the boy.

“Because of what I’ve always been: an orphan. All my life, I had no one. The few people I’ve been with, they all walked out of my life. Or I pushed them away, like I did when I’ve given you up.”

“Mum, I forgive you. You wanted to give me my best chance. And the fact you’ve always been alone doesn’t mean you shouldn’t believe in you, because I think I know why you’ve always been alone.”

Surprised, Emma arched her eyebrows. “What’s your theory?”

“You were alone in the realm where you lived because you didn’t belong there. But look at the ones around you now that you’re here, back in the world where you belong: you fit in and you are loved, and _this_ is what you deserve. Killian and I will always choose you.”

Emma pulled him against her to give him another hug, once again wondering how he could be both so young and so smart.

“Mum?” He looked up at her. “What will we do, now? Are you going to see Rumplestitskin again?”

“Yes. You were right, I think he can help me with my magic, so we’ll stay here a few more days or maybe a few more weeks, until I can control it.”


	10. The Ring

Days went by and, as it was planned, the Jolly Roger remained moored on the docks. Emma and Killian were spending a part of their days with Rumplestitskin. After experiencing this alternate reality in which the Evil Queen had visited them at the mansion, Emma hadn’t been willing to take any risk and they had decided that it would be safer for Henry to stay on board with Liam. Though reluctant, the boy had not tried to contest this decision. Afraid that something bad might happen, Emma had also tried to convince Killian to stay on the ship and let her go alone, but he had flatly refused.

Rumplestitskin had diverse methods to help Emma with her magic. Every day, he was coming up with something new. On the first days, he was simply asking her to remember how it had felt when Killian had awakened her from the alternate reality; watching the dreamcatcher, he had confirmed that the true love’s kiss to wake her up had led to a magic of the most powerful kind. Once she was focusing on how it had felt, he was asking her to summon objects to her, to push them away, to make them disappear and reappear. Killian was then standing in a corner of a room, watching her, and casting her an encouraging look whenever she was glancing at him.

Rumplestitskin’s methods proved to be efficient: Emma generally needed several trials, but after a few attempts, she was usually sending objects all around the room. That was until the day when he asked her to make objects appear out of nowhere: she made several attempts but nothing happened. The Dark One was watching her, examining what she was doing.

“Conjuring objects is not as easy as moving them.” He glanced around and spotted a bottle on the shelf. “Let’s try something else. Can you see the purple bottle there? Summon it to you.”

Summoning charms were the ones Emma was mastering the best; a trick she was usually able to perform on her first attempt. But on that day, she needed to try many times before the bottle landed in her hand. And on the next day, it was even worse.

“What’s happening to me? Why can’t I use my magic?”

“That’s the question I’ve been asking myself yesterday, and I happen to have an answer. There is something you’re lacking: motivation.”

On the defensive, Killian was the fastest to reply. “How can you say that when she’s putting all her energy into learning how to control her powers? She wants to control her magic, and all you’re saying is that she has no motivation?”

“I haven’t said she didn’t have any, dearie. I’m saying she has less motivation than when your heart is out of your chest.”

“Don’t do this!” interrupted Emma, stepping aside to stand between the two men.

“I’m not going to rip your pirate’s heart,” Rumplestitskin sniggered. “I have another idea. Alternate reality worked very well on you. I can send you to another one of them. There’s no reason to panic already; this one wouldn’t be about your deepest fears. And this time, I’ll come with you.”

“May I come as well?”

“No.” The Dark One smirked, delighted to reject his request. “Her motivation will be to come back to you. You need to stay here.”

Killian didn’t argue but turned to Emma, checking whether she was feeling ready.

“You can do it, love,” he said confidently.

“Drink this,” said Rumplestitskin, holding a phial in front of her.

“What if she doesn’t come back on her own, like the other time?”

“Don’t kiss her awake. I will be with her. She will come back.”

“How are you coming with me?” Emma asked, still holding the phial.

“So many questions. I’m taking care of everything so you can just drink the potion and travel to this alternate reality, and I still get all those questions,” he sighed dramatically. “Hold my hand while you drink the potion and I’ll come with you.”

“It’s that easy?” Emma asked, arching her eyebrows.

“Yes.” He led her to the couch and let her settle there. “Whenever you’re ready, I am.”

Emma fell asleep as fast as the first time. She found herself at the foot of a rock cliff and, when she glanced around, realized the cliff was surrounding her.

“Yes, you’re trapped,” Rumplestitskin sniggered, making her jump with surprise in the meantime as he was right behind her. “See you up there!”

Before she had time to understand, he disappeared.

“Up here!” he called from the top of the cliff. “Now, if you want to go back to your pirate, you better find a way to come up here as well.”

“You wouldn’t leave me here.”

“Don’t test me, dearie.”

“How did you go up there?”

“Why, magic of course,” he said with this theatrical tone, obviously enjoying the situation. “Teleportation is quite difficult to achieve and require a considerable rallying of powers. May I suggest you to conjure a rope instead? I believe you’re already experimented in climbing; once you have the rope, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to climb the cliff.”

“I can’t conjure things. You were there when I tried.”

“Someone must believe in them if they want to see their favorite one-handed pirate again,” Rumplestitskin said with a singing voice, sitting on the edge of the cliff, looking down at her. “How disappointed he will be when I come back without you and tell him you’re still trapped for the only reason you convinced yourself you couldn’t do it. He seemed to have so much faith in you. The poor captain will be heartbroken, knowing that you were not up to his expectations and gave up so easily.”

“Shut up!” His words and the tone of voice he was using had made her so angry that her hands flared.

“ _This_ is the energy I want to see! Now, using it wisely is up to you. Conjure a rope and climb up, or you’ll remain trapped down there.”

Her hands still flaring, she closed her eyes and imagined a rope. The rope had to be long enough, and safely attached to the top of the cliff. Emma opened her eyes and looked up; there seemed to be trees around: she could simply tie the rope around one of them. Again, she closed her eyes, imagining the rope she needed. But minutes went by and nothing happened.

“It’s not working!”

“You’re not trying hard enough.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” she asked, anger getting back on top.

“Failing, obviously.”

The flares became more intense, but she didn’t know how to turn this anger into the magic she needed to conjure the rope.

“What a waste of energy! Look at the flares: your magic is still here. You just don’t know how to use it. Because, again, you’re thinking wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“Aren’t you wondering why your magic is flaring but nothing is happening? The only explanation is that you’re doing it wrong. Let me guess,” he said, making his theatrical mimics again. “You were thinking of how the rope had to be, instead of why you needed it.”

Emma didn’t reply anything and bit her lip, realizing he was right.

“Am I wrong?” he asked.

“No.”

He laughed and stood up. “When will you keep in mind that magic is about emotions? You have enough power to do it. Just answer these questions: why do you need this rope? Who are you willing to go back to?”

“You know that very well,” she replied, annoyed by the fact he kept talking while she was trying to focus.

“Say it!”

Wishing he would just stop talking and let her focus, Emma felt a wave of anger wash over her. She knew very well what she wanted, but didn't feel the need to say it out loud. What good would it bring her to reveal she hated being trapped at the foot of this cliff and that all she wanted was to go back to Killian? The anger made her hands flare even more and she tried to use the energy it was giving her: closing her eyes, she thought of Killian, of how much she wanted to be with him. She needed to get out of this trap and go back to him. Suddenly, the warmth in her hands spread through her whole body and she felt like her head was spinning.

“This exceeds expectations,” she heard Rumplestitskin's voice say, much closer than before.

Emma opened her eyes and saw that, indeed, the Dark One was standing right beside her.

“How did I do that?” she asked when realizing she was at the top of the cliff.

“By using your power properly.”

“Was it teleportation?”

“Indeed. Conjuring a rope would have required much less magic. What you've just done is rather impressive for someone who is still learning how to control their powers. Time to go back.”

Placing his hand on her shoulder, Rumplestiltskin made them disappear.

“Emma!”

“Killian!” Jumping up on her feet, she tossed her arms around his neck and hugged him. “My magic came back!”

* * *

“You teleported?” asked Killian.

Back in their quarters, sitting on his lap, Emma had told him everything about the alternate reality.

“Yes.”

“You’re amazing.”

“I don’t know how I did it. It just happened,” she said, playing with his collar. “He didn’t expect me to do it.”

“He should believe in you more than this.” Killian lightly frowned. “I’ve been there most of the time, and I don’t like the way he treats you; how he talks to you as if you were not putting enough effort in what you’re doing.”

“He’s demanding, but that’s how he is. He’s doing all of this to help me,” she said, looking up at him. “And it’s working.”

“This won’t change the fact I do not approve of his manners.”

“I know.” She was now trailing her fingers along his jaw, examining his stubble, before a sigh escaped her.

“What is it, love?”

“I’ve just missed you. In these alternate realities, all I want is to come back to you. And that’s why these alternate realities work so well. But I always feel so lonely, there.” Once again, she locked her eyes on his. “Anyway, with a bit of luck, I’ll control my magic soon and then, bam, no need to see him again. We can leave the land and sail the seas.”

“I love the sound of this.”

He kissed her and she smiled against his lips. Her hand slipped down to rest over his heart, before her fingers closed on his collar. Leaning her forehead against his with her smile lingering on her lips, it was only when she heard a clicking sound that she opened her eyes again. Wondering what he was doing, she watched him take off one of his necklaces. And she opened wide eyes as she saw what was on the chain, her thoughts going wild.

“Whoa!” A ring; it made her think of a possibility she had until then never even considered. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa.”

Her hand started to reach for his, but stopped midway. She kept her eyes locked on the ring. Was it really happening?

“Calm down, Swan. I’m not proposing.”

Glancing up at him, she looked again at the ring. She had been taken by surprise and hadn’t felt ready for what she had thought was happening, but now that he was saying he wasn’t proposing, she wondered what would have happened if he had. Her eyes still locked on the ring, she lightly tilted her head on the side, realizing she wouldn’t have minded if it had happened, because she knew what her answer would have probably been. Looking up into his bright blue eyes confirmed her guess: he was the best thing that had ever happened to her; she would gladly promise him a future with her.

Gazing at her with his head slightly tilted on the side and a hint of curiosity on his features, Killian was trying to read her thoughts. He then focused back on the ring, placing it in the palm of her hand.

“This ring, you should have it. I’ve had it for many years, it belonged to my mother. I’ve kept it with me all this time.”

“Wow, are you sure you want to entrust me with this?”

“My love, I would trust you with my heart. Keep it,” he said, closing her fingers on the necklace. “So you can know, whatever alternate reality you’re in, that I’m somewhere out there, waiting for your return.” Looking into her eyes, he flashed her a crooked smile, remembering the words she had used one day. “At the very least, it’s a reminder that you’ve got a piercing-eyed, smoldering pirate here who loves you.”

With one of the brightest smiles, her hand slipped in the nape of his neck and she kissed him.

“Thank you,” she smiled against his lips before once more looking into his bright blue eyes. “I love you too.”

“I know,” he grinned and pressed a kiss on her cheek. Emma put the necklace on and he lifted her hair before rearranging it over the chain. “You’re beautiful.”

Her smile brightened and she tucked her face in his neck. Discreetly, she tried the ring on and felt like it seemed to fit. She glanced down, her forehead still in the crook of his neck, smiled as she saw the ring on her finger, and removed it before hugging Killian.

* * *

“Henry, do you know where Liam is?” Killian asked.

He and Emma had left the quarters and were on deck, where Henry was sitting with some ropes, working on his skills and tying them together.

He looked up and got back on his feet as soon as he heard them, giving up on what he was doing. “Liam told me to tell you he’d be back soon.”

Killian raised an eyebrow. “Where did he go?”

Emma was examining her son with her head lightly tilted on the side, feeling like he knew more about it.

Henry caught her eye and answered. “Well, there’s this girl.”

“Is there indeed?” The pirate smirked, obviously curious but also amused by this information.

“It’s not like that… I think,” said the boy. “Yesterday, you spent more time than usual at Rumplestitskin’s. Liam started to worry and he wanted to call him, so he went to the docks. But before he had time to summon him, this girl came to ask for his help. And she came back again today.”

“Who is she?”

“Relax, mum. Not everyone is here to hurt us. I don’t know who she is, I had never seen her, but he says we can trust her. He said she’s on our side.”

“Why didn’t he tell us anything about her?” Emma asked.

“Maybe because he didn’t think she would come back?” suggested Henry. “Anyway, he should come back soon. You can ask him then.”

Henry, Killian and Emma stayed on deck, the boy asking the captain some help with the ties. While the two of them seemed relaxed, Emma kept anxiously casting a glance overboard, waiting for Liam’s return.

“Love, you don’t have to worry.”

“But what if this is a trap?”

“The girl looked nice,” reassured Henry.

“Trust me, I know my brother. He can be stubborn, but he knows what he’s doing. I’ve never seen him take a wrong decision.”

To Emma’s relief, as Henry had predicted, Liam indeed soon came back.

“Apologies,” he said, “I wanted to warn you before leaving the ship, but you two were locked in your quarters.”

Henry suddenly became suspicious and addressed his mother. “What were you two doing?”

“Hey, we were just talking,” said Emma while Killian chuckled.

Liam flashed them a smile before heading towards his cabin, without any other word. Exchanging a surprised look, Killian then nodded, letting Emma understand he was taking care of this.

“Speaking of talking…” The one-handed pirate trailed off midsentence, following his brother. He waited to be below deck before patting his shoulder. “Liam, are you alright?”

“Aye, I am. But that’s not the case for everyone,” he said while entering his cabin.

“What do you mean?”

“The Evil Queen. It seems like she’s been even worse than usual, lately.”

“How does that affect us?”

“Killian. Why do you think she got even worse? The boy,” Liam said. “And now she’s making everyone suffer. Because he’s with us.”

“Henry must never know about this.”

“Why not?” asked Liam, looking at the ocean through the porthole.

“He needs to be protected. Can you imagine the guilt he would feel if he knew? He would probably go back to her by himself.” At first unsettled by his brother’s question, Killian then tilted his head. “You’re not considering handing the boy over to her, are you?”

“No. Of course not,” he replied, keeping his eyes locked on the porthole. “But that’s unfair to everyone else she’s making suffer.”

“Liam, listen to your words. She’s always been a monster. She already was when we were working for her. And she had him, then. Anyway, what happened to make you think she’s even worse than before?”

“Rumors are that her black knights are everywhere in the realm and that her favorite occupation has become to slaughter villages of innocents. She even declared war to the underwater kingdom.”

“Is the girl the one who told you all of this?” asked Killian. Since Liam kept staring at the porthole, apparently not expecting his brother to be aware about it, he added, “Henry mentioned a girl. Who is she?”

“Someone you don’t need to worry about. She doesn’t know Emma and Henry are here. She doesn’t even know where the ship is.”

“How did she come back to you today if she doesn’t know where to find you?”

“She can call me when she needs to. With one of those.”

Liam pulled out of his pocket a rather large seashell. Killian opened wide eyes before looking up at him.

“Brother, the only time I’ve seen one of those was in Neverland. Is she one of those mermaids?”

“She is a mermaid, but she’s different than the ones we met. We can trust her, she is on our side.”

Examining his brother, Killian tilted his head on the side again, a teasing smile making its way to his features. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you quite fancy this girl.”

“Killian, don’t be ridiculous.”

Of course he was denying, thought Killian. His brother had always been secretive with how he was feeling: when they had lost their mother, and then when their father had left them, Liam had never showed his feelings. Instead, he had taken care of his little brother, setting for him an example of what Killian had seen as strength. But this time, something in Liam was reminding Killian of how he had been feeling himself just a few months earlier.

“Ridiculous, am I?” asked Killian, amused by the turn of the conversation. He kept examining his brother; he could definitely recognize the way he was staring at the ocean while getting lost in his thoughts. “When you least expect it, a woman can walk into your life and turn your whole world upside down. I know what it feels like. I’ve been there.”

Liam finally tore his gaze away from the porthole. “Killian, it’s not like that. There’s nothing between me and her.”

Not convinced, his smirk lingered on his lips. “Are you going to tell me what her name is or should I keep referring to her as the girl?”

“Her name is Ariel, and she is out there, fighting with her family a war she shouldn’t even be involved in. The underwater kingdom had been living at peace for decades, and now they’re at war again for the sole reason the Evil Queen is going mad.”

Killian became serious again. “Why did she come to you?”

“The Evil Queen took them by surprise. A part of her kingdom has been besieged without any explanation. She has this bracelet allowing her to walk on land, so she came here to know what was going on, and I was the first one she found on her way. She asked me if I knew anything about the Evil Queen and her recent deeds.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I haven’t revealed anything about your identity or Emma’s, or about the fact Henry was here. I simply said there were rumors about her son going back to his real mother. Today she came back to ask if I knew more, and to confirm it all seems to be related to Henry. She’s been investigating since yesterday. That’s how she learned about the slaughtered villages.”

Killian scratched his forehead, thinking of how to handle the situation. “Will you see her again?”

“Perhaps. We agreed to share any information we might get.”

“Alright. Just make sure not to tell Henry a word about all of this. He doesn’t need to know.”

“What about Emma?”

“I’ll tell her,” said Killian as if it was obvious. “I am not willing to hide anything from her.”

* * *

Emma hesitated but finally agreed that they shouldn’t tell Henry everything: he could know that wars had been declared, but the reason why the Evil Queen was doing all of this shouldn’t be mentioned. Like Killian, she was thinking that, if he knew Regina was slaughtering villages to find him, he would turn himself in and, against his will, would go back to live with her; something they couldn’t let him do.

Since Ariel didn’t come back with some more news in the next days, Emma’s fear to see the Evil Queen appear on the docks subsided as everything seemed to go back to normal. Every day, she kept going to Rumplestitskin’s mansion and spending a few hours there to work on her magic. Right in front of Killian’s eyes, she improved a lot. She was finally mastering the conjuring charm: when Rumplestitskin had taken her to another alternate reality, she had found herself at the top of a ravine, with the Dark One standing on the other side, asking her to join him. Closing her eyes, she had tightly closed her fingers on the ring Killian had given her and, thinking of him, had managed to conjure a bridge to cross the ravine.

The more she was learning about magic, the more she was enjoying her powers and the more time she was spending practicing when back on the ship. The only limit she had was tiredness: she could feel using her powers was draining her energy if she was practicing for too long; the price to pay for her magic, had said Rumplestitskin. But this wasn’t stopping her. What she loved the most was to see wonder settle on Killian’s features when she was conjuring feathers she was making float above them, in the mornings while they were still in bed, or his eyes full of love when she had lit up candles for an intimate dinner she had secretly planned.

Killian wasn’t the only one to benefit from her magic. After coming back on board, on one of the days when she had been working on conjuring charms, she spent a moment with Henry on deck.

“Do you remember the question you asked me when I told you I had magic?” she asked, sitting beside him on the railing of the ship.

“Yes! I asked if you could make a hot chocolate with cinnamon appear!” he said enthusiastically. “You can do it?”

Emma flashed him a smile before a mug appeared in her hand, which Henry happily grabbed.

“You can even get some whipped cream, if you want.”

“Really?” he asked. Emma closed her eyes and, the next second, some whipped cream topped his chocolate. “Awesome!”

Conjuring one for herself, they then knocked the mugs together before drinking.

“Mum, it’s delicious!”

Emma smiled brightly. Once again, what she loved the most about her magic was not the fact it enabled her to conjure a hot chocolate, but the fact that she was able to bring some happiness. And every time she was practising magic with Killian, it was the same: this look full of awe and love she was seeing in his eyes was one of her favorite things in the world.

* * *

Emma didn’t stop improving with her magic: every day, she was learning new enchantments. After finally mastering the conjuring charm, she had asked Rumplestitskin to learn how to cast a protection spell; like the one he had cast on the Jolly Roger to make it invisible, and thus prevent the Evil Queen from appearing on deck like she had done months earlier. At first telling her that this spell was very complicated, he had eventually agreed to teach her.

“We’ll use an alternate reality, since you usually succeed more there than when we stay here,” he said while handing her the phial she was now used to.

The potion took her to a clearing in the forest.

“Protection spells act like an invisible aura around the object you’re trying to protect. The object will disappear from view. If you’re close enough to your target, the aura will cover you and anything else around. This is why you can still see your ship: you were aboard when I cast the spell,” explained Rumplestitskin. “Your turn, dearie. Try to cast one of these spells on the rock right over there.”

The said rock was a large one, resting on the edge of the clearing. With no further explanation, the Dark One teleported to sit on a branch a few meters above the ground, leaning back against the trunk. Emma closed her eyes and, like any other spell, focused on what she wanted to do. But she felt nothing was happening, and whenever she opened her eyes to check, the rock was still there. She tried over and over again, but the rock didn’t disappear.

“I can still see it,” Rumplestitskin sniggered. “But don’t worry, dearie. I did warn you protection spells were not easy to cast.”

Emma didn’t succeed on that afternoon. On the following day, she asked him to try again and he sneered.

“And what makes you think you will be more successful than yesterday?”

“I want to give it another try,” she replied, ignoring his sarcastic tone. “This time, I will succeed.”

“Oh, confidence. I like it.”

Rumplestitskin handed her the potion which brought her back to the clearing in the forest. Facing the same rock than on the day before, she closed her eyes and focused again. She was feeling more confident because during the previous evening, Killian had reminded her of those times when the crocodile had been wrong not to believe in her. This had made her realize she had let the Dark One convince her that she wouldn’t be able to cast this spell. But Killian did believe she would succeed, and she had been willing to try again. Keeping her eyes closed, clutching the ring, she imagined Killian was sitting on the rock; he needed to be protected.

The first attempts proved to be unsuccessful, but at last, she felt the warmth of her magic spreading through her body and, when she opened her eyes, a smile brightened her face: the stone had disappeared.

“You did it,” Rumplestitskin noticed, sounding surprised.

“If someone was to walk there, would it be as if there’s nothing standing in their way, or would they stumble on it?” Emma asked out of curiosity.

“A powerful magic, but not so much wit,” Rumplestitskin smirked. “Was Henry able to get aboard your ship, or did he walk straight into the water?”

“He got aboard,” she said, regretting she had not taken some more time to think before asking her question.

“Exactly. Protection spells create an aura which is only hiding the target from view, not making it truly disappear. The aura is tethered to the target: if you move the target, the aura will follow. If someone is covered by the aura, they will be able to get out of the cover and still see the target.” Walking around her, he bent down to pick a stone. “The aura isn’t visible, but you can get an idea about its extent by doing this.”

He threw the stone towards the rock and, in mid-air, it disappeared. It reappeared a few meters beyond the rock before reaching the ground.

“Anything or anyone getting in the zone covered by the aura will be hidden from view as well.”

“Can the aura be removed?” asked Emma.

“Only the one who cast the spell can undo it.”

* * *

Back on the ship, Emma and Killian found the deck to be quiet. Henry was usually running to them, excited to know whether his mother had learned anything new. Emma guessed he was probably reading in his cabin or in her quarters. Killian also noticed there was something unusual. He frowned as they passed his brother’s cabin; there was nobody there.

“Liam?” he called.

But there was no answer.

“Henry?” she asked.

Again, no one answered. Feeling like there was something wrong, Emma let go of Killian’s hand and hurried to their quarters. The door was open, and the view made her gasp: the room was empty and one of the chairs was knocked over. A quill was lying on the floor, and quickly she noticed the piece of parchment on the table.

“No!” Dropping the piece of parchment, she bypassed Killian and ran back to the deck. “Henry!”

Killian had been checking the other cabins. Seeing her run past him confirmed something was wrong; he had time to glimpse the panic imprinting her features. Noticing at first the chair which was knocked over, he then spotted the note on the floor and picked it. The few words had been without any doubt hastily scribbled by the boy.

‘Someone’s on board surely here for me. Black knights. Don’t blame Liam, told him I was safe and he could go.’

“Bloody hell!”


	11. Operation Cobra

Hearing Emma call her son, Killian ran back to the deck as well. She was already on the docks, looking for the boy, calling his name over and over again.

“Emma! Come back on deck,” Killian said, wrapping her in his arms. He noticed how she was holding her hands together, vainly trying to hide the flares coming out of them.

“They took him, we need to find him.” She struggled, intending to escape his embrace, in vain. “Henry!”

“What we need is to avoid getting caught. I can’t lose you again.”

“But they took him. I need to find my son! Henry!”

“And we will get him back,” he said. At these words, Emma finally stopped struggling. “But the black knights are probably far away already, and we can’t just venture into the forest like this. We need a plan.”

“We have no time for a plan.” She paused for a second, trying to think of something which would quickly get them back to Henry. “What we need is magic.” Without discussing this with Killian, Emma called, “Rumplestitskin!”

“Wait! There has to be another…”

Interrupted as the Dark One appeared in front of them, Killian rolled his eyes, unpleased to see him again.

“Someone needs my help,” he said with a giggle.

It was actually not a question; more like an assessment, and Killian wondered whether he already knew. But Emma, still held in Killian’s embrace, rushed to summarize the situation.

“Henry’s been kidnapped. Black knights took him. They took my son. We have to find him! We need your help.”

Emma barely had time to finish her sentence before the Dark One made himself and the two of them disappear in a puff of smoke, bringing them to his mansion.

“You know something,” said Killian, glaring at the man he was following towards the table.

“And what are you implying by that?” asked the Dark One, stopping and turning around to face the pirate.

“Back on the docks, you didn’t seem surprised. Somehow you already knew. What reason other than your own involvement could there be?”

“Killian.” Emma placed her hand on his arm, trying to calm him down.

“Do you really think I’d help kidnapping Henry? After everything I’ve done to help you, I would have expected you to trust me by now.”

“This is exactly why I have doubts,” Killian lost his temper. “You once told me everything comes with a price, and yet you spend several hours a day helping Emma with her magic without asking for anything in return. Why, crocodile?”

“Everything comes with a price, for you. I’ve told you already, I’ve known Henry for his entire life; he doesn’t need to pay anything. And he wanted me to help his mother. Now, still thinking I helped kidnapping him, pirate?”

“We don’t have time for this!” Emma intervened, standing between the two men. “My son is somewhere out there with that crazy woman, and all this bickering won’t help getting him back! Is this true? Did you know something?”

“Yes. But I didn’t know everything. I just guessed something was wrong because I’ve seen you on the docks, obviously looking for something. Or, in that case, someone. That’s why I wasn’t surprised you called me.”

“What do you mean, you’ve seen us on the docks?” asked Emma.

“Crystal ball, dearie.” The Dark One went to the shelf and came back with one out of the three crystal balls standing there. Emma watched the white smoke floating inside of it. “This one is exclusively dedicated to you. The smoke turns red whenever someone enters or comes out of the protective aura surrounding your ship.”

“So you’re watching us?” asked Killian.

“For your protection,” said Rumplestitskin.

“Well, we can’t say it worked.” Unable to conceal his dislike of the man, Killian was glaring at him.

“Careful, dearie. I could simply decide to send you back to the ship, without the boy.”

“That’s enough! Both of you.” Emma intervened again, her hands flaring. “I don’t care about whether you’re watching us. I summoned you because I thought you’d be able to help me get my son back. So will you help or not?”

“You have fire,” Rumplestitskin giggled.

“You heard her, now do something” said Killian, his jaw clenching. “How did they find him?”

“We’re about to find out,” said Rumplestitskin. With a move of his hand, the white smoke inside the ball became agitated.

“What’s happening?”

“I’m rewinding. Crystal balls have the ability to record events, allowing us to watch them again.”

“There’s something!” said Emma when the smoke turned red.

“Must be the two of you looking for Henry.” With another move of his hand, the red smoke turned into an image of the docks and Emma saw herself calling for Henry and Killian joining her. The smoke became white again, as Rumplestitskin kept rewinding. “This one must be when you both went back on board. Ah! Now, this one.”

The smoke had turned red again and Rumplestitskin made the image of the docks appeared inside the ball.

“Henry!” Emma said as she saw him.

The boy was surrounded by four black knights. He glanced back at the ship before looking down. He seemed to be offering no resistance; his hands weren’t even tied, as Emma would have expected. He looked like he was complying.

“They must have threatened him. She got him back, we need to find him!”

“How did they get past the protection spell?” asked Killian.

Rumplestitskin rewinded some more, going back to when it all started. The black knights appeared on the docks, dragging a man with them. Killian frowned and leant forward to get a closer look.

“Bosun…” he said.

“Excuse me?” asked Rumplestitskin.

“This man, I know him,” explained Killian, while the man found himself on his knees with a sword against his back, obviously threatened by the black knights. “He was part of the crew.”

The sailor seemed to resist, but at last he looked down and lifted his arm up to point at something; the ship. Two of the black knights followed the indicated direction and, once they saw the ship was indeed there, the two others set him free and went on board as well.

Looking at the crystal ball, the Dark One smirked before looking up at them, realizing how black knights had found the ship. “You didn’t move your ship after ditching your crew!”

Killian and Emma exchanged a glance; none of them had indeed thought of moving the ship. Rumplestitskin sniggered.

“Amateurs,” he said, pointing the both of them. “I’ve cast a new spell when I knew you had ditched your crew. They were supposed to be unable to find you. That is if you had moved your ship! It is easy to find something we can’t see if it’s still at the same place. Do you realize how easy it was for black knights to capture one of your men and force him into telling them where the ship was?”

The Dark One sniggered again and Killian clenched his jaw. “Instead of laughing at us, can’t you be useful and help us to get him back?”

“He must be back at the castle by now,” said Emma. “Killian, you’ve been there before. We need to go.”

“Love, it’s too dangerous.”

“But Henry…”

“For once, your pirate is right. But you’re in luck. There’s a ball tonight at Briar Rose and King Stefan’s castle, to celebrate the return of their daughter, Princess Aurora, awakened from a sleeping curse by her true love Prince Phillip. True love seems to be trendy, these days. Anyway, Regina is always invited to such events.”

“Because the king’s head would vanish to another realm, if he didn’t invite her,” interrupted Killian.

“Exactly. And she never misses an opportunity to show up. With Henry. All you need to do is to get there and bring him back.”

“As simple as that,” said Killian, irony imprinting his words. “All we need to do is to intrude a royal ball and, without being seen, face the Evil Queen and take her son away without her noticing.”

“Who said you had to get there as intruders? Luckily, you’ve got me to help you.” Another move of his hand, and he conjured a piece of paper. “See? An invitation to the ball.”

“Shouldn’t you go instead of sending us?” asked Emma. “You’re the Dark One, it’d be easier for you.”

“Me, at a royal ball?” Rumplestitskin made a face. “No, thanks. Royal blood runs through your veins. You can’t miss such an opportunity to play princess for a night. Now, would you feel ready to teleport?”

“To teleport?”

“Yes. To go back to your ship once you get your son back,” the Dark One said as if it was obvious.

“She only did it once,” Killian intervened.

“And it just happened, I didn’t control anything,” added Emma. “Back in my world, I had these books… The characters could teleport, but they had to learn first, because there are risks. Like risks to leave a part of ourselves behind.”

Rumplestitskin sniggered. “I’ve never seen that happen.”

“I don’t want to take the risk, I don’t know if I can do it again.”

“Then, I guess I will have to come. But you get the boy back. I’ll just be outside the castle, waiting for you to come so I can send you back to your ship.”

“You’d do that for us?”

“Despite what your pirate thinks, I’ll help you get Henry back.”

The three of them spent some time elaborating a plan. Rumplestitskin happened to know the castle and drew a map, indicating them how to get out of it and find him.

“Remember, it’s important for you not to stick out. You have to blend in, until she arrives. She has a tendency to be late, but don’t worry, you will notice her: everyone knows when she enters the place.”

“Yeah, you told us about that already. Now, tick tock, crocodile, it’s about bloody time you send us there.”

“Wait. Not like that!”

Rumplestitskin giggled and covered them in a puff of red smoke which dissolved a second later. Emma had expected him to use this charm they had talked about earlier, the one preventing Regina from recognizing them. She gaped as she wasn’t expecting to see herself in a red ball gown. She looked up at Killian; his outfit had also changed, the black leather coat being replaced with a brown one.

“But, even dressed like this, Regina can still recognize us.”

“This is not to hide you from her. Do you really think they would have let you in, with what you were wearing? Now, allow me.” Rumplestitskin conjured a mirror and both Emma and Killian looked at the strangers who were dressed like them. “A glamour spell. This is how you shall appear to one and all. Now, go.”

The next second, Killian and Emma found themselves outside, in the forest. This was part of the plan; Rumplestitskin hadn’t sent them directly to the doors of the castle because their arrival wouldn’t have gone unnoticed.

“It’s about bloody time. I couldn’t have taken more of this crocodile.”

“Killian, I know you don’t like him,” said Emma, reaching for his shoulder. “But he wants to help us.”

“I know. Let’s go and save Henry.” Killian glanced around and found what he was looking for. “The path is here.”

Taking her hand, he led her to the large path and, once there, they could see the majestic castle standing a few hundreds of meters ahead of them.

“Wow, that’s even bigger than I had imagined.”

“More impressive than in your fairy tales book?” Killian asked, turning to her with a smile.

“Look out!” a man called.

Both of them started with surprise and Killian quickly pulled Emma to the side of the path while the carriage went past them.

“Let’s avoid walking in the middle of the path. It’s time to go.” Smiling brightly, Killian glanced down at his arm, obviously waiting for her to intertwine her arm with his.

“Are we really doing this?” Emma asked when she realized what he wanted.

“My love, you’re about to go to your first royal ball, and I have the honor to be your partner. I have to do things right.”

Failing at repressing a bright smile, she bit her bottom lip and looked down before intertwining her arm with his. Together, they walked towards the castle, staying on the edge of the path as more carriages pulled by horses went past them.

“Since the day when I came to this realm, I’ve never felt like I was in a fairytale as much as now.”

“Don’t forget you’re a princess.”

“I know. But don’t forget this isn’t the main reason of why we’re here.”

“Love, I know why we’re here. But this doesn’t mean I can’t rejoice in taking my princess to her first royal ball. Remember, until Regina and Henry arrive, the only thing we have to do is to blend in.”

Looking ahead of them, she smiled and didn’t reply anything; she knew he was right. And though she was worried the night wouldn’t go as planned, she couldn’t help enjoying the fact that the plan didn’t include to venture into some dark places, but to go to a royal ball with the man she loved instead.

Soon, Killian and Emma crossed the bridge, passed the gates and reached the courtyard where the carriages, one by one, were dropping off their passengers close to the high front door, all of them being elegantly dressed. When they arrived in the entrance hall, Emma looked around, amazed by how large everything seemed to be. Thanks to the plans they had studied, they knew they needed to follow the guests up the stairs and turn left to get to the ballroom. All the way looking around, her arm still intertwined with his, it was only once they were waiting in line that Emma noticed Killian was gazing at her. She tilted her head – a move she had taken from him – but he didn’t react.

“Killian?”

“Hmm?” Pulled out of his thoughts, he looked up into her eyes. “Sorry love, it’s just… You cut quite the figure in that dress. As always, you look beautiful.”

Again, his words brought her a bright smile and she bit her bottom lip. “Do not court your princess like this, she might not resist you.”

“My princess, I’ve been taught to tell the truth,” he said while handing over their invitation.

Her eyes went down to his lips; it was one of these moments when all she had in mind was to kiss him, and she needed to remember where they were to resist the temptation.

“Greetings,” a man addressed them, instantly pulling her out of thoughts. “I’m King Stefan, father of Aurora, and here’s my queen,” he said, indicating the woman by his side. “Who do we have the honor to welcome into our home?”

“I am…” started Killian. “I’m… Prince… uh…”

“Robert. Prince Robert,” helped Emma. “And I’m Princess Giselle.”

“An honor to have you both,” said the queen.

“Announce Prince Robert and Princess Giselle.”

“Where are these names coming from?” asked Killian while leading her through the crowd.

“From a movie I’ve watched, back in my realm; a movie about a fairytale princess sent to another world. At first, she wants to go back to the world she knows, but she ends up falling in love with the man who welcomes her, and she stays. I thought of it on our way here, because they even go to a royal ball and…” She trailed off as one of the elements of the movie appeared to be real: in front of them, couples were swirling around the dancefloor. She gaped, staring at them. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Blend in.” Killian flashed her a smile and softly took her hand before leading her to the dancefloor.

“Wait… Are you saying you know how to do whatever this is?”

“This is called a waltz,” he said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Killian, I may be a princess but I’m not like the other ones around.” She anxiously glanced at the couples around them, all evolving so smoothly. “I don’t know how to dance.”

“Worry not, love,” he reassured while placing her other hand on his hook, which was hidden by a black glove. “You’ve done all you needed to.”

“But I’ve done nothing.”

“You did. There’s only one rule: pick a partner who knows what he’s doing.” Placing his hand in her back, he pulled her closer. “Everything will be fine, love. Just follow my lead.”

He started moving and Emma looked down at his feet, trying to follow his steps. But quickly, she noticed it was easier to simply let him guide her; looking up into his eyes, she realized the way he was shifting his hooked arm, or how his hand was more or less pressed in her back, were enough to let her know where she needed to go. Soon, she assimilated the rhythm their feet were following and her moves became smoother. Killian was not taking his eyes off of her, and his smile was showing how much he was enjoying this moment.

The dance included some new moves, like Killian going down on bended knee and making her walk around him. She saw his smile brighten and she teased him.

“Watch the mocking. I’m actually getting the hang of this.”

“I’m not mocking you, love. I never will.” To him, she was flawless, and it was obvious there was nothing in her to be made fun of. “I was just thinking about what you said, about not being able to dance and, see? You’re dancing. And I’d say you appear to be a natural, dancing at least as majestically as any other princess in this room.”

“You’re biased.”

“How is that?” he asked, standing up and starting to waltz again.

“Because you love me.”

“This, I can’t deny,” he said with a bright smile. “But I must insist on the fact you do look like a natural, and not everyone move as smoothly as you.”

“Perhaps they simply didn’t pick partners who know what they’re doing as well as mine. How do you know how to dance?”

“What do you say? I’m a natural as well.”

“Really?” she giggled, lovingly looking into his eyes.

“Alright, that’s not totally right.” He made her turn and pulled her back to him. “The king we used to work for invited Liam and I to royal balls a few times, when we were coming back from important expeditions. As the captain responsible for the main royal missions, Liam’s status was rather high, that’s why he was invited. And being his brother and lieutenant, I got to be invited as well. Liam got to dance with the king’s daughter; dancing with a king’s daughter is always an honor. In the meantime, I was staying away from the dancefloor, trying not to laugh while I was watching my brother.”

“So you’re not mocking me, but you were mocking Liam?” Emma teased him and he chuckled lightly, while they were still waltzing.

“Perhaps at first I was mocking him. But since the king’s daughter knew how to dance, he learned how to dance rather fast. And after our first royal ball, he told me it was bad form to simply stand in a corner of the room. He told me dancing with the ladies standing on the edge of the dancefloor was the polite thing to do.”

“Remind me to thank Liam for making a gentleman out of you,” Emma giggled.

“Love, I’ve always been a gentleman,” he replied, playfully pretending to be offended. “A gentleman who just didn’t know how to dance.”

“So I’m not the first princess you’re dancing with?” she asked on a teasing tone. “Other princesses taught you?”

“I’m not sure whether they were princesses, maybe some of them were simply some maids. And they didn’t teach me everything; before our second ball, Liam taught me the basics.”

“Your brother taught you how to dance?” she asked, her smile brightening, briefly laying her eyes on his lips.

“Hey, look at who’s mocking, now.” Killian repressed a laugh. “We don’t all get the chance to have royal blood running through our veins.”

“I’m not mocking you. I actually think that’s rather adorable.” His lips were strongly appealing, but she noticed all the couples around were keeping a polite distance between them, so she resisted and looked him in the eye instead. “I’d say you’re the best dance partner.”

Killian flashed her a crooked smile before making her turn and pulling her back to him. “Tell me, love. You seemed surprised when you realized we would dance. What did you think a royal ball was like?”

“I don’t know. I guessed there would be some people dancing, but I didn’t realize we would be part of them. Maybe I imagined we’d just be standing somewhere close to the buffet, waiting for...”

She was interrupted midsentence and, like them, several couples stopped dancing as the doors burst open.

“Henry…” Emma whispered.

Her son was there, walking by Regina’s side, and avidly glancing around, as if looking for something.

“Do you think he’s looking for us?” asked Emma, realizing he wouldn’t be able to recognize them because of the glamour spell.

“Aye, that’s very likely.” While the king went to welcome her, Killian kept waltzing to lead Emma out of the dancefloor, among the guests gathered around the buffet. He noticed the worried look on her face. “Everything will be fine, love. All we need to do is not to stick out. Let’s not stare at her too much, and wait for the right moment to approach him.”

But the simple sight of her, so close to her son, was bringing Emma on the verge of panic and, as soon as her hands were not in contact with Killian, she pressed them together to stop them from flaring.

“Love, relax.” He pulled her against him, wrapped her in his arms, and tenderly pressed his lips on her neck.

“Killian, what are you doing?” Her voice was just a whisper coming out of parted lips, her eyes closed, and her focus on his lips on her neck. “We’re not supposed to stick out. There isn’t any prince kissing their princess.”

“But I am no prince.”

And there was also no princess having their hands magically flaring, but he avoided to remind her of the flares, as they seemed to have stopped. Killian took her hand and led her to another spot even closer to the buffet and offering an even better view of the ballroom.

“Look…” Emma nudged Killian and indicated him Regina and Henry.

They could just see them, as they were too far away to hear what they were saying. She offered him a cupcake, which he refused. They then saw Regina indicate another child, but they were too far away to hear her tell Henry to go and play with the few children who were around. Neither did they hear the boy replying that other children wouldn’t play with him because they were afraid of her. Emma saw on the Evil Queen’s features an expression she had never seen before: she looked sorry.

“She’s good to him.” Watching them was making Emma feel guilty. “Are you sure we should…”

“Love, she may be good to him, but he realized she’s not good to anyone else. He wants to be with us.”

“But look at her, it’s like she’s a different person with him.”

“Quite different, isn’t she?” Both Killian and Emma turned to the woman who had just spoken. Wearing a yellow dress which looked familiar to Emma, the brown-haired girl was holding a cupcake in one hand, a book in the other. She added with a smile, “I’m Belle.”

“Belle. Like in the Beauty and the Beast?” Emma asked before she could stop herself.

“What?”

Killian gave Emma a look which was both disapproving and amused before addressing Belle. “She has a strange sense of humor. But let’s get back to the Evil Queen: do you know her well?”

“Not so much. I just know that she’s a totally different person when she’s with her son.”

“He doesn’t look as cheerful as she seems to want him to be,” Killian commented casually, still trying to prove his point to Emma.

“If what they say is true, I can understand why,” said Belle. “Poor boy. I’ve heard she has just taken him back from his real parents. He had finally found them, and he’s been with them for weeks. He probably sees them as heroes and would give anything to go back with them.”

Noticing how intensely Belle was looking at them while she talked, Emma felt like she was judging their reactions as if testing some theory, and the idea she might have guessed who they were crossed her mind. It even seemed to her like Belle glanced at Killian’s left glove, and Emma couldn’t stop herself from thinking she was looking for the hook.

Killian, however, wasn’t suspicious at all. He was simply glad she had confirmed what he was telling Emma: Henry wanted to be with them.

“Poor boy, indeed,” he said. “You really think he’d prefer to be with them, despite everything the Evil Queen could give him?”

“Yes. That’s probably why she brings him to such events; she’s surely trying to show him all she can offer him. The thing is that he doesn’t seem to care that much about a royal life. I guess he finds it boring and would prefer a life of adventures. I can totally relate.”

Noticing this same intensity in her look and feeling more and more like Belle knew, Emma changed the subject. “So you don’t care about royal balls?”

“I only came here to find someone who has helped me before. I’ve heard she has helped Prince Phillip to rescue Aurora,” said Belle. Emma followed her eyes and guessed the young couple waltzing were no other than Aurora and her prince. “But she doesn’t seem to be here. I should have guessed she wasn’t the royal ball type either. But I’ve said enough about me. I’ve never seen you before. It looks like you’re less interested in dancing than in the boy?”

Emma was hesitant, but Killian seemed to decide they could trust her.

“I do love dancing with my princess,” he said. “But that’s right. Dancing isn’t why we came here. We need to find a way to talk to the boy. In private.”

In the plan they had drawn up with Rumplestitskin, there had been only one part left to improvisation, and it had been this one; finding a way to approach the boy and let him know who they were, without the Evil Queen noticing.

“Hmm, I see,” commented Belle, convincing Emma she knew. “It would look suspicious to just go to him and isolate him, but maybe there’s another way. Where is she?”

Wondering who she was looking for, they watched Belle looking around the room.

“There she is.” She indicated a girl probably just as old as Henry, standing next to a group of adults and distractedly looking around. “Her name is Violet. Her parents are good friends of mine.”

“A girl,” said Killian with a crooked smile, “that could work.”

“He’s only ten,” Emma objected.

Killian shrugged. “She could still be a friend.”

Emma imagined Regina seeing Henry with the girl before they would take him away and suddenly worried for Violet. “Wouldn’t it be dangerous for her, or her family?”

“We could gather all the children. I can read them my book, it’s a book of adventures. All the kids generally love those.”

“But she will never leave him far from her,” said Emma.

“Unless he wants to come,” Belle replied. “She’d do anything for him.”

They discussed the idea and, after a few minutes, agreed this was their best option. Since the person she had wanted to see wasn’t there, Belle was willing to help them.

Regina and Henry were close to the buffet, the boy obviously still refusing to eat anything. When the king went to talk to the Evil Queen, it was time to act. Emma had convinced Belle and Killian that it was better if only one of them went to talk to Henry, and she had insisted to do it. Making her way through the guests, she knew she wouldn’t have much time, but she knew what she needed to say.

“Hey, kid,” she patted the boy’s shoulder and he turned around to face her, surprise imprinting his features. “Come with the other children, we’re going to read a book. It’s called Operation Cobra.”

At her last words, his eyes lit up.


	12. First Aid

The way Henry was looking at Emma let her know mentioning Operation Cobra had the expected effect; despite the glamour spell, he knew who she was. She lightly nodded, confirming his guess.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the Evil Queen interrupted them, glaring at her.

Feeling the warmth of her magic spread to her hands, Emma crossed her arms to hide her fists. Too much focused on trying to control her powers, she found nothing to answer.

“Can I go?” Henry asked Regina excitedly. “With the other kids? They’re going to read a book, I’ve never read this one. Can I go? Please?”

 The Evil Queen seemed to hesitate before smiling at him with a softness Emma had never seen in her yet. “Of course you can.”

Once Henry had turned his back on her, every hint of kindness disappeared as she stared at Emma, who faked a polite smile before leading her son away. She was carefully keeping some distance between her and Henry, because she knew Regina wouldn’t stop watching them.

“That’s genius! This Operation Cobra book sounds amazing,” said the boy, walking by her side. “Is the story about a hero going solo, or is there another hero appearing later?”

“I’d say there’s another hero somewhere,” Emma replied with a smile, understanding his question was a disguised way to ask whether Killian was here as well. “But you should listen to the story and pretend you know nothing about it.”

She glanced at the spot where she and Killian had met Belle. He wasn’t there anymore; without any doubt, he had moved on to the next stage of the plan. Emma and Henry walked past adults happily chatting while enjoying their drinks, standing around high tables. Belle had gathered a few children around one of them and was making them choose one of the stories of the book. Emma and Henry found themselves with their back to Regina and, though Emma didn’t like not knowing what the Evil Queen was doing, she knew it was a good thing she was unable to stare at her; she couldn’t take the risk to make her suspicious. Distractedly listening to the story, she did her best to be patient and wait for Killian.

In the meantime, Killian decided he had been waiting long enough and went back to the ballroom. Glad the doors had been kept open, he entered and went straight to the Evil Queen. Following her gaze allowed him to quickly spot Emma and Henry among all the guests.

“Your Majesty,” said Killian, faking breathlessness to pretend he had been on a rush. She looked down on him, waiting to know the reason of this disruption. “Your black knight is sending me. He’s near the entrance hall, in the first room on the right when we enter the castle, and he needs your help.”

“And who might you be?” Regina asked haughtily.

“No one compared to you, Your Majesty. I’m just a prince who went out for a moment and walked by your black knight on the way back. He said he needed your help with a woman he caught. If I’ve heard it right, her name is Emma.”

Judging her reaction, Killian knew the plan was working, as she reacted exactly like they had expected: blinded by her hate, she believed him; hearing Emma’s name instantly made her smirk and she seemed ready to go and find her, but then her expression changed as she glanced at Henry, and she seemed to think she couldn’t involve him in this, especially not when he looked so happy with other children. Her son couldn’t know what she was about to do. But then, if she wanted to catch Emma and let Henry enjoy his time with the other children, there was only one option left: again, she looked down on Killian.

“Over there is my son,” she said, indicating Henry. “Watch him. And do not make me remind you what happens to those who fail the Evil Queen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Killian as innocently as possible.

After glancing at Henry another time, the Evil Queen left. Once she was out of sight, Killian went to Emma, trying not to rush, to avoid arousing suspicion.

“It’s time,” he whispered in her ear.

Guessing the true identity of the man who had just arrived, Henry failed at repressing his smile. Belle noticed him as well and interrupted her reading.

“My apologies,” said Emma, “we need to…”

“I know,” Belle interrupted. Her smile confirmed Emma’s guess: she had not been tricked by the glamour spell and, indeed, she knew. “Go!”

Killian indicated them to follow and, once again, was very careful not to rush. If anyone noticed them, they would think Killian had been sent by the Evil Queen to bring them back to her. But nobody seemed to even notice them and they reached the doors.

“This way!” said Killian once they were out of the ballroom, indicating the corridor on the left and letting them go first, while watching the passage in front of them; the passage leading to the stairs going down to the entrance hall, where the Evil Queen probably was at this moment.

They ran along the deserted corridor, Killian leading again, glancing back every few seconds to check the Evil Queen wasn’t after them. Killian listened carefully, but their footsteps were the only sound he could hear.

“On the left,” Killian warned, getting a head start to check the path was clear.

They had no time to waste. With a bit of luck, the Evil Queen was still looking for the black knight and Emma, and had not admitted she had been tricked yet. But soon she would be looking for them.

“Someone’s coming!” Emma whispered as she heard voices.

But Killian had heard them as well: he stopped and took a few steps back to take the corridor on the right, pulling both Emma and Henry with him and pushing them back against the wall, protectively standing in front of them with Emma right behind him, his hooked arm held in front of Henry, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Emma took Henry’s hand and looked down at him, checking he was alright. Hearing the voices coming closer, she held her breath, hoping that whoever was coming would not decide to take their corridor. Two black knights appeared and, luckily, went straight on. Killian craned his neck to watch them leave and, once they were out of sight, indicated with a tilt of the head to start running again. Emma remembered the map of the castle they had studied a few hours earlier. She knew they were almost there; at the end of the corridor, they would need to turn left again and there, on their right, would be a painting hiding a secret passage leading out of the castle.

“That’s the one,” said Emma, looking for the latch supposed to be on the side of the canvas.

“There,” said Killian, finding it a bit higher, mostly hidden behind the painting. Taking off his glove, he unlocked it with his hook and, like a door, pulled the canvas open. “Inside, quickly!”

Taking Emma’s hand, he helped her climb inside the hole in the wall, before helping Henry, Emma helping pull him inside; the painting was so high that the boy needed to tiptoe if he wanted to see inside.

“Killian, hurry up!” Emma said once Henry was inside, fearing some black knights or, even worse, the Evil Queen herself, might arrive anytime.

Killian joined them and pulled the painting closed. With the fear they might be found, Emma’s hands were flaring; she couldn’t control them and, now they were in the dark, she couldn’t hide them.

“Mum, your hands, you can help Killian with your light.”

Realizing he was right, Emma came closer to Killian, using her hands to allow him to see what he was doing.

“I can’t lock this bloody thing!”

Killian was struggling. When he tried to let go of the canvas, it opened itself again; it needed to be locked. And as soon as this thought crossed Emma’s mind, it happened; it was locked again.

“You’re amazing,” said Killian, looking at her hands. “Can you use your magic to light up the way?”

“I don’t… Oh.” She didn’t have time to tell she didn’t know how to do it before the flares turned into a brighter and more stable light. “Seems like I can.”

The light revealed the stairs going down, obviously leading to an underground passage. Emma led the way. Without a word, they ran down the steps and along the tunnel. Emma’s magic was the only light they had; it was so essential that she managed to keep it steady.

“How much further is it?” asked Henry, panting.

“Almost there,” said Emma, trying to convince herself; she didn’t know how long they had been running, but her feet were hurting so much that she hoped they were out of the castle already.

“Hold on, lad,” encouraged Killian, taking his hand to offer him some help.

Sounds coming from behind them echoed through the tunnel and they exchanged a concerned look.

“Someone must have found the passage,” said Henry.

“Run!” ordered Killian, and they ran even faster.

Echoes were making it difficult to evaluate how far their followers were, but Emma reassured herself, thinking of how long they had been running already; they probably had a good head start. Another thought crossed her mind: what if someone was waiting for them outside? The light flickered and she focused on her hands again. Soon, they could feel the tunnel was going up again.

“We’re going back up, Henry. We’re almost there,” Emma whispered encouragingly, ignoring the pain caused by her shoes.

At last, they saw the dim light of the night at the end of the tunnel. But as they got closer, they saw the metal gate blocking the way.

“Bloody hell! That was not in the plan,” Killian complained once they were close enough to see it was locked.

“I can get rid of it,” said Emma.

“Don’t!” The voice made Emma jumped as she first thought of a black knight, but it turned out to be Rumplestitskin, standing on the other side of the gate, obviously amused by her reaction. “Don’t remove it. Unless you want everyone at the castle to know you’re here. It’s enchanted.”

“Can’t you hear them coming?” asked Killian. “They already know!”

Rumplestitskin sniggered. “There’s still no need to remove it, since I can send you back from here. Speaking of, I’ve seen you enough for the day. Now, go and move your ship!”

The next second, Henry, Killian and Emma were on the docks, back into their normal clothes. Still holding the boy’s hand, Killian ran to the ship, closely followed by Emma.

“You’re back!” Liam said as soon as he saw them. “I found Henry’s note, I was so worried. How…”

“We’ll need to talk,” interrupted his brother. “But first, we need to get away from here. Are you alone on board?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” said Killian, once again not giving him time to add anything else. “Take the wheel, we need to put some distance between us and those docks as fast as possible. Emma, love, can you come here and hold this? In the meantime, watch the docks.”

Emma nodded and seized the ropes he had adjusted and was handing her.

“Lad, you’re coming with me. You’ll be the captain’s first mate.”

Despite the rush, Killian took the time to flash Henry a smile. Together, they went to the other side of the deck. The ship soon left the land and, once they were sailing, Killian went to free Emma of the ropes.

“Since we do not need to go on land for now, we’ll drop anchor here. It’ll be safer.”

Once they did, Henry ran into both Killian and Emma to hug them.

“I haven’t got time to do this, yet,” he said, his arms wrapped around the both of them. “Thank you for coming for me.”

“Of course, lad,” said Killian, wrapping his arms around both of them.

“I hope you realize you owe me a story,” said Henry, looking up at them. “I still don’t know how you found me or entered the castle disguised as someone else, and I want to know everything that happened!”

“And we will tell you everything, kid.”

“But for now, there’s something I need to do,” added Killian.

Henry followed his eyes and suddenly looked concerned as he looked at Liam. “Don’t blame him. Ariel needed him, I told him I’d be fine. It’s not his fault.”

“I know. But there are still questions I need to ask him.”

Noticing he was being watched, Liam stopped what he was doing and came to them.

“Henry, I’m sorry, I was supposed to protect you and I failed.” Liam looked up at Killian and Emma, his features imprinted with guilt. “I really am sorry. I couldn’t foresee that, the only time when I would leave, black knights would find the ship and kidnap Henry. That’s an unfortunate combination of circumstances.”

“Liam, everything’s alright now, you don’t need to apologize,” said Emma, still in Killian’s arms, her hand pressed over his heart.

“But is it really what that is, brother?” asked Killian.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you truly think that’s an unfortunate combination of circumstances?”

Liam looked confused. “What else could it be?”

“This girl, Ariel,” said Killian, “she’s the reason you left the ship, right?”

“She’s innocent!” Liam assured.

“And how do you know that? What evidence do you have that she’s not just the Evil Queen in disguise?”

“Killian?” Henry interrupted. “It can’t be that, I’ve been with Regina all this time.”

Killian frowned and addressed his brother again. “Until when were you with this girl?”

“Not a long time before you arrived. I came back, thought it was unusually quiet, looked for you, and found the note. I tried to call Rumplestitskin but he didn’t reply, and a few minutes later you were back. Ariel is not the Evil Queen in disguise.”

“Indeed. But the Evil Queen has her minions, she could be one of them.”

“I don’t believe this,” said Liam.

“What if Regina was controlling her?” suggested Emma.

Killian then remembered a chapter in one of the books they had read; a chapter about this magic allowing to control someone by keeping their heart. “Do you happen to know whether her heart is beating inside her chest?”

“I…” This was the first time Emma was seeing Liam look so embarrassed. “How am I supposed to know that? I can’t just go and press my hand over her chest. I have no evidence to give you, I just know what she’s saying is true.”

“But how do you know?”

“Because she showed me. It’s complicated to explain. But the point is, you should trust me, and her.”

“Mum, with your superpower, you could see if she’s lying?”

“Yes but, maybe we should just listen to Liam and trust her.”

“Actually, no,” said Liam. “That’s a very good idea, Henry. Next time she comes to me, I’ll bring her on board. You will meet her and realize she’s not the Evil Queen in disguise, or her minion, or a heartless mermaid acting under her influence. I have nothing else to say for tonight and it’s late so, if you will excuse me, I’ll go to bed now.”

Not waiting any longer, Liam departed.

“He likes her,” Emma observed once he was out of sight.

“I know,” said Killian, “and this could cloud his judgement. This is why we need to be careful. For him.”

Looking up at him, she playfully pretended to be taken aback. “Do you feel like falling in love clouded your judgement?”

“Love,” he chuckled. “I had no reason to be wary, which is good considering how I fell in love with you without ever wondering whether it was right or wrong.”

“Alright,” interrupted Henry, fearing the conversation might drift, “Liam was right, it’s late, I should go to bed as well.”

“Sorry, kid,” Emma giggled. “Let’s go to bed.”

“I just need to finish taking care of the sails. I’m coming to you as soon as I can.”

* * *

When Killian joined her in the quarters, Emma was sitting on the bed, taking care of her feet which had been hurting so much while running away from the castle.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his head tilted on the side. “Are you alright, love?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” She looked up at him with a smile to assure him she was alright. “Don’t worry, that’s just because of the shoes I was wearing.”

“But you’re bleeding,” he observed, coming closer. “The shoes did that to you?”

“That’s nothing, don’t worry. Back in my realm, I used to often wear this kind of shoes for work, and this happened all the time.” Emma couldn’t help smiling, finding it adorable that she needed to explain him such things which looked so common to her.

“Can I be of any help?” he asked, coming to sit by her side.

“No, it’s fine. I can do this by myself,” she said, still bending over her feet.

Softly brushing a blonde curl back behind her ear, his eyes were full of love as he watched her. “You’ve been amazing tonight. You always are, but tonight you were simply breathtaking.”

“I…” Finding no word, she looked up, and the love in his eyes instantly made her feel like she was melting. Her cheeks warmed up. “Will there be a day when I stop blushing at your every compliment?”

“I hope not, because I happen to find the way you’re going red beautiful.” Brushing her cheek with the back of his fingers, he tilted his head on the side. “I mean, even more beautiful than you already are.”

“Killian…” She giggled and looked down at her feet; his words were definitely not helping the blush to stop.

He chuckled, kissed her cheek, and leant against her just enough to make her topple. She laughed as she found herself lying on the bed, with Killian’s forehead against her cheek.

“Killian, I haven’t finished…”

But before she could remind him she hadn’t finished fixing her feet, she felt his fingers reach for her wrist, and he snatched the cotton pad she was holding.

“Let me help,” he said, kissing her cheek before sitting up.

Leaning on her elbow, she repressed a laugh. “You really can’t help yourself, can you?”

“I enjoy taking care of my princess. Now, will she let me, or not?” He raised an enquiring eyebrow and she nodded. It was only then that he looked at the cotton pad and realized he had never seen that before. “Where does that come from?”

She shrugged. “Nowhere. I thought it would be convenient to have some of those, and they appeared.”

“You’ve improved a lot with your magic, lately,” he said with a proud smile.

“I’m not controlling anything tonight. But I guess that’s because we saw her again.”

“What’s this?” he asked distractedly, looking at her foot.

Again, his lack of knowledge about the realm where she used to live made her smile. “That’s a sticking plaster. It helps protecting the wounds. I need another one here.”

Placing his hook under her ankle, he softly took her foot on his lap and examined the spot she indicated. He grabbed the bottle which was among the cotton pads and the plasters.

“What’s that for?” he asked.

“To avoid wasting your rum,” she replied with a smile, thinking of this one time when he had bandaged her hand.

“Very good.”

Delightedly watching him discover things from her realm, Emma was willingly not giving him more information than what he was asking for. But it seemed like he didn’t need to know anything else; he poured some of the antiseptic lotion on the cotton pad and delicately cleaned the wound.

“Does it hurt?”

“Nope, I’m fine,” she assured him.

He took a plaster and Emma bit her lip to repress a smile as he placed it on the wound without uncovering the sticking parts. Realizing there was something wrong, he took the plaster back and tried to remove the piece of paper from one corner, but struggled.

“There’s an easier way to do it. Let me show you.” She sat up and held out her hand, waiting for him to give her the plaster. “Look, you can remove the paper from the middle part of it. The easiest way to do it is like this.”

Softly pressing the middle part of the plaster on her wound, she removed the two pieces of paper one after the other to apply it. Killian glanced at her other foot and, since she had not taken care of it yet, took it on his lap as well. Having carefully watched each of her gestures when she had showed him, he perfectly knew what he needed to do, and dedicated himself to clean and cover the wounds. Emma was not taking her eyes off of his fingers, amazed by this gentleness he was showing.

“Done! Is there any other part of you needing to be fixed?”

“Hmm, nope. Everything is perfectly fine now, thank you.” Still staring at his hand resting on her foot and his thumb softly brushing her skin, she finally tore her gaze away and looked up at his face. “Wait, yes. There’s something else you can do.”

“What is it?”

He looked her up and down, searching for any hint of injury. But there was nothing to be found. Emma lay down and grabbed his sleeve to pull him down next to her, so that they were both laying on their sides, facing each other.

“If there’s something else you want to fix… my lips miss something: yours.”

He flashed her a crooked smile before they shifted closer, until their lips met. It was only when they were breathless that she pushed on his shoulder to make him lie on his back, and rested her head over his heart, catching her breath. The thought it would be perfect, if only she could feel his skin directly under her cheek, crossed her mind, and suddenly it happened: there was no layer of clothes left between them.

“Oops.”

Killian chuckled and looked down to confirm his impression they were now in the nude and covered with a blanket. “Usually, it’s one item of clothing at a time, but I won’t complain. All at once works as well. You even tucked us in.”

“I didn’t control anything,” she admitted and he chuckled again.

“Should I worry this might happen anytime?”

She thought of how often her thoughts would be likely to trigger such magic and giggled. “I really need to learn how to control it.”

“Do you often have thoughts which could lead to this?” Killian asked on a teasing tone.

Repressing a smile which would give her away, she played with his fingers before replying, “Depends on how much ‘often’ is.”

“How often?” he asked with a smirk, sounding amused.

“I won’t tell.”

She shifted over him to kiss his lips once again, before leaning her forehead against his for a moment. She then shifted back to rest her head over his chest, and settled comfortably in his embrace; one hand in his, the other one on his upper arm with her fingers caressing his shoulder, his hooked arm in her back, and her legs intertwined with his. She was listening to his heart. A soft sigh of delight escaped her.

“Despite the fact it was to get Henry back that we went there, there was something nice about tonight,” she said, thinking out loud. She looked up at him. “I’m glad you’re the one who took me to my first royal ball. I loved dancing with you.”

“It was an honor for me, to take you there.” He lifted his head up to look into her eyes. “And I’ll repeat myself by saying it again: you’re a natural. The way you were moving was so elegant. You’re flawless.” Letting his head sink back into the pillow, he tenderly tightened his embrace. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She tilted her head to press a kiss against his chest. Closing her eyes, she listened to his heart, and soon fell asleep.


	13. Out of Control

It was a sunny day. The first thing Henry had asked was for Killian to tell the tale he hadn’t got the time to hear the previous evening; the tale of how he and Emma had come to the royal ball to take him back from Regina. At his request, they were all on deck; he had insisted they could sit down on the floor and enjoy being outside, instead of being locked in the quarters. Liam was with them, willing to hear the tale as well, but when Killian saw him, he momentarily forgot about the ball and gazed at his brother. There were so many questions he was willing to ask about Ariel that he didn’t know where to start.

“Killian?” Henry pulled him out of his thoughts. “We’re all ready to listen to you!”

“You’re right, lad.”

Killian then started his tale, from the point when he and Emma came back to an empty ship and found Henry’s note. He noticed Liam seemed to be somehow distracted, and he wondered whether it was related to Ariel, but he said nothing and focused again on the story he was telling. Liam wasn’t the only one to be distracted; while Henry was hanging on to every word, Emma wasn’t listening very attentively: sitting back against Killian, wrapped in his arms, she was looking down at her hands which she was holding together. Since the past evening, they had barely stopped flaring. With the sunlight, she could hardly see the flares, but she could feel the warmth of her magic; her magic which, she could also feel, was slowly draining her energy.

Killian went on with the tale of what had happened the night before. He told about the moment when he diverted the Evil Queen’s attention and joined Emma and Henry and, even if the boy knew the rest of the story, kept going for Liam, who now seemed more attentive. Emma was still only distractedly listening, while Henry was enthusiastically adding some details to Killian’s tale.

“You know the story at least as well as I do,” said Killian when Henry detailed how they hid from black knights in the corridor. “How about you finish telling the tale, lad?”

Killian flashed him a bright smile and, delighted, the boy told Liam the rest of the story, giving as many details as he could.

“We arrived on the docks and I didn’t even have time to recognize the place: Killian was very fast, he was still holding my hand, and made me run to the ship. And then we needed to sail away as fast as possible, in case black knights would come. But you know that part, you were there with us.” Finishing the story, Henry glanced at Killian who nodded with a proud smile on his lips. The boy glanced around before adding, “I’m hungry.”

A chocolate bar then appeared on the floor in front of him and the boy’s features brightened.

“Awesome! Thanks, mum!”

Pulled out of her thoughts, Emma looked up and saw the chocolate bar he was already unwrapping.

“I… You’re welcome. I didn’t even realize…” She looked down at her hands, which she was still holding together.

“Love, are you alright?”

“Yes.”

She glanced at him and one look was enough for him to understand she needed some time alone. After softly pecking his lips, she got up and left, Killian watching her until she disappeared below deck.

“What’s up with her?” asked Liam.

“Seeing the Evil Queen yesterday night has driven her magic a bit out of control.”

* * *

Sitting in the quarters, Emma was looking through books, desperately searching for a solution, trying to find a way to stop her hands from flaring. It was already the fifth book she was going through, and there still seemed to be nothing about how to control her magic. Slowly, she convinced herself that, if there was no solution in books, it meant there was no solution at all. The more she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to control her magic, the brighter were the flares. Her hands were flaring so intensely that she barely dared to touch anything, afraid that the flares could light up a fire. And when she turned the page as this thought crossed her mind, the book caught fire. She instantly moved back and thankfully, her magic reflected her thoughts once again, when she thought of extinguishing the fire: the flames went out. Getting up and stepping back to a corner of the quarters, she stared at the book, in shock. She was tempted to go back on deck, but she wasn’t willing to take the risk to hurt anyone; she had to be alone. Her fists clenched, she crossed her arms, afraid she might do something worse and turn the place upside down. At this thought, all the books burst out of the shelves and loudly landed on the floor. Emma shut her eyes closed and tried to stop thinking. But at this moment, the door opened and, before she could stop herself, she sent a streak of light, which the man avoided just in time.

“Killian!”

“Calm down, it’s alright. I’m fine,” he said, closing the door behind him.

Relieved, she was still too afraid to move, or even to talk. Killian slowly came closer, and stopped about two meters away from her, leaving her some space. He held out his hand to her.

“What are you doing?” she asked, keeping her arms crossed.

“Showing you that it’s time to stop being afraid. I can see the fear in your eyes. Love, we will find a way. Take my hand.”

“Killian, we don’t know what it could do to you. This could kill you.”

He shook his head and kept his hand outstretched. “It won’t. Because I trust you. Now, do you trust me?”

Emma nodded, but was still hesitating. Not moving, Killian was being patient. Eventually, she stepped forward and slowly reached for his hand, each second dreading more and more what it would do to him. But when their hands came in contact, nothing seemed to happen.

“See? You don’t have to worry. We will find a way,” he repeated, keeping her hand in his but still not moving.

Tearing her gaze away from her hand, which seemed to be flaring less intensely, she looked up at him. There was only one thing that she found to say. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Their arms were still outstretched and there was still some distance separating them, but without any warning, Killian pulled her to him and kissed her; it was one of those passionate kisses which swept her off her feet. Both breathless, his lips trailed across her cheek and he hugged her. She thought of her hand he was still holding, of this risk he had taken to take her flaring hand.

“You must be crazy, or lack some survival instinct, or both,” she commented, making a crooked smile appear on his lips.

He pulled back to look her in the eye. “I prefer to say I’m a man who trusts the woman he loves.” Since she didn’t seem convinced, he added with a smirk, “A man who _blindingly_ trusts the woman he loves?”

“Like on this day when you walked the plank to trigger my magic,” she reminded him, looking down at their hands.

“I did it because I knew on this day you would save me. Like I knew today you wouldn’t hurt me. I’ve seen the way you’re holding your hands together when you want to hide the flares, and nothing wrong happens. So I thought it would probably do nothing to me. Well, nothing _wrong_ , at least.” She looked up, obviously intrigued, so he added, indicating their hands, “It feels warm. Some kind of warmth which I can’t really describe… besides saying that’s rather enjoyable.”

“Killian…” Failing at hiding her amusement, she shook her head.

“What?”

“Such a pirate; being turned on by danger.”

“Only if that danger comes from you,” he replied with a smirk. Pulling her to him again, he kissed her neck and hugged her. It was only then that he noticed all the books were on the floor. “Speaking of danger… I guess the books falling down are what I’ve heard on my way here. It was about time I arrived; before you destroyed our quarters.”

She knew at his tone that he wasn’t blaming her for anything but was rather teasing; Killian blaming her would be a first. Looking back at the books on the floor, she then looked at the one on the table and bit her lip.

“I’ve accidentally burnt one of your books.”

Already in a teasing mood, her words made him smirk. “So I’m not the only one smoldering at your presence. You have the same effect on books.”

Emma closed her eyes and tried to stop her thoughts, but it was too late: her hand in his back found itself in contact with his skin as her magic sent his clothes away.

Killian chuckled. “Second time since yesterday night.”

“I really need to learn how to control it,” she said, pressing her forehead against his shoulder.

“I actually quite fancy this.”

Willing to make him stop talking before he would completely make her lose control, her lips crashed against his and she kissed him, before leaning her forehead against his.

“Stop saying things like this, I can’t control my magic.”

“My apologies for not being able to resist you, Your Highness,” he said with a smirk before shifting to bring his lips close to her ear. “But who said you had to control anything right now, in the privacy of our quarters?”

* * *

In the afternoon, Killian and Emma were back at the Dark One’s mansion. Emma explained how her hands had barely stopped flaring since the previous evening and how, out of control, her magic had been reflecting her thoughts.

“From the start, your magic has been triggered in situations of great danger, mostly when the Evil Queen was involved. It is not surprising that seeing her yesterday night triggered your magic.”

“Yeah thanks, we gathered that,” replied Killian, unable to hide his dislike. “We’re looking for a solution, not an explanation.”

“The problem needs to be understood before being solved, dearie.”

“Can you find a solution?” asked Emma.

“I’m afraid not, dearie. Your hands may stop flaring with time.”

“What if they don’t? Every moment with my magic out of control is a moment when I can hurt someone. I want to be able to control it, now.”

“May I suggest an alternate reality to test your magic?”

“That depends on what this alternate reality involves,” Killian said, his jaw clenching. “The last time you wanted to test her magic, you let her drift towards a waterfall.”

“But this was not an alternate reality, dearie. Nothing wrong would happen in this one.”

“Let’s do it,” Emma decided.

The potion, which she was now used to, took her and Rumplestitskin to a rather dark room filled with many mirrors. Before she had time to ask him what they were doing there, the reflection of the Evil Queen appeared on each of the mirrors. Instantly, streaks of lights left her hands and most of the mirrors shattered, while the reflection on those which were still intact slowly vanished.

“Well, good thing I’m not superstitious, I don’t know how many years of bad luck that’d be,” said Emma, looking at the mess she had created.

Rumplestitskin made the both of them disappear in a puff of smoke. The next scene had, to Emma, a lingering sense of déjà vu: she was at the bottom of a cliff. Looking up, she saw Rumplestitskin at the top of it. She had been there already, on this day when he had told her to conjure a rope and climb up, and she had teleported instead. The Dark One didn’t say anything and simply watched her. The thought she had to get to the top of this cliff crossed her mind and, instantly, she teleported there.

“Interesting. Very interesting,” said Rumplestitskin appreciatively. “Very good.”

“But I can’t control any of it!”

“I unfortunately cannot help with that. It is inside you that you need to find the strength to control it.”

“I’ve tried, but I can’t!”

“Find the motivation, or you might hurt the ones you love.”

The simple thought of hurting Killian or Henry made her hands flare more intensely. While focusing on them, a noise coming from the bushes behind Rumplestitskin caught her attention and, before she had time to control herself, she sent a streak of light.

“Exactly what I meant: you might hurt someone. What if it had been your son or your pirate?”

“What solutions do I have? I know I need to control it, but I don’t know how.” Emma looked down at her hands, fear imprinting her features. “I can’t take the risk to hurt them.”

“Yesterday was a stressful day. It may be simply caused by the fact you saw her again.”

“But there has been no improvement since yesterday. My hands just won’t stop flaring.”

“Wait for a few other days,” suggested the Dark One.

“What if nothing changes? There has to be a way.”

“What do you mean?”

Thinking of Killian and Henry and of how they loved her magic, Emma hesitated, before eventually asking, “Is there a way to get rid of my magic?”

“To get rid of your magic?” The Dark One looked stunned. “All this power and you want to get rid of it?”

“If I can’t control it, I do not want it.” Her eyes locked on her hands, Emma realized she truly meant those words. “Can you help me?”

“Actually, there is a way. But you have to be sure that’s what you want, because there will be no going back. For now, I advise you to wait, and come back tomorrow. We’ll see whether there’s any improvement.”

* * *

Since Killian was never coming with her in alternate realities, Emma did as usual and, once they were back in their quarters, told him about everything that had happened there: what she had faced, and how she had used her magic. Sitting on the bed next to her, Killian was carefully listening. When she told him about the conversation with Rumplestitskin, he shook his head and softly took her hand, again feeling the flares against his skin.

“My love, magic is a part of you. Don’t get rid of it. If you believed in yourself as much as I believe in you, you would know you will succeed. You will control it, I can assure you.”

A knock on the door interrupted them.

“Henry? Come in!” Emma invited.

“It’s not Henry.”

“Liam!” said Killian, recognizing his brother’s voice. “You can come in as well.”

Emma and Killian exchanged a glance and shrugged, surprised as Liam usually never knocked on their door.

“My apologies for interrupting you,” he said as he entered the quarters. “You wanted to meet Ariel to be sure she can be trusted. She’s on her way right now. Should I invite her on board so you can meet her? If she wants to, of course.”

Killian and Emma exchanged another glance before nodding at Liam.

“Aye, we’d be honored to finally meet her.”

Emma caught the hint of a smirk on his features and guessed he was about to tease his brother about the mermaid. But if he had planned on it, he obviously stopped himself from doing so.

While Liam went to meet Ariel on the docks, Killian, Henry and Emma were waiting on deck, with Killian standing between the two of them. Emma noticed his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

“Killian…” she said, her hand covering his. “Relax, I’m sure she’s truly nice. Remember what you told me the other day: you’ve never seen your brother take a wrong decision.”

“That was until yesterday night, when he decided to go to her and leave Henry alone on the ship.”

“Killian, don’t be angry with him,” said Henry. “This was my fault, I told him to go.”

“Lad, don’t worry, I’m not angry with him. But it was still a wrong decision.” With his hook on the boy’s shoulder, he flashed him a smile and pulled him closer. “I know she’s probably nice, but with you and your mum by my side, I’ll never lower my guard.”

They didn’t have time to say more as Liam came back into view. Emma smiled as the woman walking by his side looked exactly like she would have expected a mermaid named Ariel to look like. The red-haired girl wearing a purple bra and a long light blue skirt followed Liam on board.

“Ariel, these are my brother, his love, and her son,” introduced Liam once they were standing next to them.

“Welcome aboard,” said Henry enthusiastically.

The mermaid flashed them a bright smile before looking all around. She reminded Emma of the first time when Henry had come on deck; she could see the same innocent and curious look in her eyes.

“It’s the first time I walk aboard a ship. It’s even better than what I had expected, seen from here,” she said, looking at the ocean.

“There are many amazing things on board!” Henry commented, obviously delighted the mermaid was sharing his interest.

“It is really great. Even if it’s a bit strange that you know who I am but I don’t exactly know who you are.”

“You still haven’t told her anything about us?” Killian asked his brother, but Ariel was faster to answer.

“He told me knowing who you are would put you and I both in danger. I trust him,” she said, smiling at Liam.

“Should we go to the quarters?” offered Emma.

“Where is that?” she asked.

“Below deck!” answered Henry with a bright smile, amused by her question.

Liam nodded and they went down to the quarters, taking place around the table, Henry sitting down on the bed, and Ariel still looking all around.

“We don’t want to hold you back, if there’s something you need to do,” said Killian, making sure it was alright for her to be on board.

“Liam told us there was a war?” asked Emma.

“The situation has improved,” said the mermaid, focusing back on them. “Poseidon, the sea king…”

“Your father?” Emma interrupted.

“No, he’s not my father.”

“Oh, sorry.” The way Ariel was curiously looking at her made her feel like she needed to explain. “I come from a land far away from here. We hear many stories there, but I probably got them mixed up.”

Emma glanced at her pirate; he was the perfect example to show that reality was deformed along the way from the Enchanted Forest to the land where she used to live. Thinking of the story she knew, she looked at Liam and the mermaid; her father may not be Poseidon, but finding love in a man from the surface looked plausible.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” Emma quickly added when she noticed Ariel was still curiously looking at her.

“What did the sea king do?” Killian asked.

“He signed an agreement.”

“Bargaining with the Evil Queen is possible?”

“She was looking for her son, but the black knights searched the kingdom and didn’t find anything about him. But it turned out that she became interested in something else. In our kingdom, there are many treasures we possess and protect, some of them are very ancient,” explained the mermaid. “I don’t know what it was, but something got her interest. She was the one offering a deal: our freedom against this object. At first, Poseidon was reluctant, but at last he agreed. Our kingdom is free again.”

“That’s good news.” Emma was truly relieved to hear this, because knowing the Evil Queen’s deeds were all related to her and Henry had made her feel guilty. Examining the mermaid, she finally decided to tell her. “Liam told you that knowing who we are would put both you and us in danger. You knowing who we are could be dangerous, because the Evil Queen is looking for us, but I’m trusting you. This is Henry, somehow her son, but also mine; I’m Emma, his birth mother.”

“And Killian is my brother,” Liam concluded, obviously glad he didn’t have to hide anything anymore. “This is why I couldn’t take the risk to tell you; not because I didn’t trust you, but because if one of those black knights had found out you knew something, you’d have been in danger as well.”

“I knew you had a good reason not to tell me.”

“And this is why I’m glad the situation in your kingdom has improved,” Emma added. “We caused this, by keeping Henry away from her, and I don’t want entire kingdoms to be in trouble because of us.”

“Killian and Emma, I’ve heard stories about you. You’re really brave.”

“They’re heroes! But, Ariel, if your kingdom is free again, why do you need Liam?” Henry asked innocently.

Ariel smiled at him. “Because now that the kingdom is free, I can make Liam visit. We didn’t have much time, yesterday.”

“Visit?” Killian raised an eyebrow, not understanding how that could be possible.

“Yesterday, remember when I told you she showed me? I said it was complicated to explain. I guessed you should just see by yourself.”

Killian and Emma exchanged a look of surprise before they all went on deck.

“I should be back in a few hours, but before I leave, take this,” Liam said to Killian, giving him the seashell. “If you need me, blow into this and I’ll be back.”

“But where are you going?” Killian asked, still confused.

“Are you going with Ariel under the sea?” asked Henry.

Liam smirked. “Watch me.”

“I was enchanted to meet you. Hopefully, we’ll meet again!”

Ariel barely had time to speak before Liam pulled her away, his arm in her back. They left the ship and, after Liam had made sure Killian, Emma and Henry were watching them, dived into the ocean.

“We’re here,” called Liam after resurfacing. “And look at this!”

Ariel and Liam kept looking at them while a first tail appeared on the surface, followed by a second one.

“Bloody hell, I’ve seen many strange things in my life, but this is the strangest of them all,” said Killian. “My brother is a mermaid.”

“Merman is more accurate,” Liam corrected, amused. “I told you it was better to show you directly. You wouldn’t have believed me otherwise.”

“But how did you do that?” Emma asked.

“With this.” Liam raised his arm and indicated the bracelet. “I can get my legs back whenever I remove it.”

“Can I get one too?” asked Henry.

“Sorry, Henry,” Ariel said. “I could get only two of them.”

“Can you breathe underwater?” the boy asked.

“Aye!”

“Awesome!”

“I’ll be back soon!”

They dived and disappeared from view.

“Do you think they’re together?” Henry asked.

“Not yet,” Emma answered. “But I’ve never seen Liam look so happy, and I see the way he looks at her. He reminds me of his brother.” She turned to Killian, her eyes filled with love and tenderness as she thought of these first days she had spent on board. “He looks at her the same way you looked at me when I was still resisting you. It may be a bit early for this, but if the Jones brothers are alike when it comes to love, I’d say she’s one lucky woman.”

Her eyes landed on his lips and she didn’t resist: she kissed him before he had time to say anything.

“Muuuum!” Henry whined. “Warn me before you two kiss!”

Killian and Emma smiled against each other’s lips before they laughed, Henry joining in the laughter. Staying in Killian’s embrace and knowing he wasn’t truly blaming them, she pulled him into the hug.

* * *

On each of the next days, Emma and Killian went to see Rumplestitskin. Every day, the exercise was the same: Rumplestitskin was taking her to this alternate reality where she was finding herself surrounded with many mirrors, all showing the reflection of the Evil Queen. He was telling Emma that controlling her magic was her responsibility and that he could do nothing more to help her. But no matter how hard she tried, she kept shattering all the mirrors every time. There was no improvement, and Emma had the feeling it was actually worse and worse: her magic had never been so powerful and she could do whatever she wanted to, but it had also never been so much out of control. She was trying not to show how afraid she was, but she could feel the flares were exhausting her, and she was spending every moment of every day dreading she might hurt someone. And this day came.

Emma, Henry and Killian were in the quarters. Liam had left with Ariel for several days. Emma was reading on the bed while the boys were playing dice. Her hands started to flare more intensely and trying to control them only made it even worse. Afraid she might burn the book, she closed it and went on deck, away from Killian and Henry. The two of them exchanged a look as they saw her leave, and followed her.

“Killian, no, it’s dangerous, don’t come close to me,” said Emma, stepping back towards the railing. “Henry, please, go back to your cabin. I can’t control myself, I don’t want to hurt anyone!”

Henry looked up at Killian who nodded approvingly and indicated him to go back below deck. The boy listened, but Killian refused to go with him.

“Killian, don’t come any closer.” She looked down at her hands. The flares had rarely been so intense. She clenched her fists and looked up at Killian. “I could hurt you. I can’t do that to Henry, to you. You have to leave me alone.”

“Love, you won’t hurt me. Remember, I trust you. We will find a way to control it.” He came closer, holding out his hand to her. “Remember how you took my hand just a few days ago. You were afraid it might be dangerous, but nothing wrong happened.”

Killian kept coming closer, but she refused to give him her hand. This didn’t seem to stop him. But when he reached for her, a streak of light left her and he was sent backwards before landing on the floor a few meters away.

“Killian!”

“Don’t worry, love, I’m alright.” He got up with his hand in his neck, and stepped forward before stopping to leave her some space. “I’m fine. That was my fault, I shouldn’t have insisted.”

“Don’t take the blame for something I’m responsible of.” Angry at herself and worried she had hurt him, she was the one closing the distance between them, willing to examine his neck. “You’re burnt!”

“Emma, that’s nothing.”

But to her, it wasn’t nothing; she had hurt him. She was so angry at herself that the flares stopped and she momentarily felt in control.

“Love, I can assure you I’m alright,” he repeated.

“Shh…” Her feelings being a mix of anger towards herself and tenderness for him, she softened and leant her forehead against his, placing her hand close to his neck. “Hold still.”

Closing her eyes, she focused on her magic and healed him.

“Thank you. Didn’t even sting.”

Taking advantage of how close she was, he wrapped her in his arms and hugged her. She remained a moment in his embrace. Her hands started flaring again, and she thought of the option Rumplestitskin had mentioned; this option she hadn’t evoked in days. She sighed before sharing her thoughts.

“I know how you love my magic, but I should get rid of it.”

“My love, you can’t do that,” said Killian, pulling back to look her in the eye. “Do you know why I love your magic?”

Looking up into his eyes, Emma nodded, and Killian went on.

“What I love about watching you perform magic is not the magic itself. It is to see this spark in your eyes, this happiness shining out of you when you do. You’ve embraced this power inside of you; you love this magic you have. If you get rid of it, you will regret it.”

“But I can’t control it anymore. I’ve hurt you.”

“I am alright.”

“Because it was just a burn. What if next time I do even worse?”

“Your magic is not something to be afraid of,” he said, softly reaching for her hand in the meantime to prove his point. “We will find a way, together.”

“You keep saying that.”

“And you keep ignoring it.” Gazing at her, he thought of something. “Come back to our quarters.”

She let him pull her back to the quarters. Henry was waiting below deck, and inquiringly looked at Killian, who nodded to indicate he was handling it. Relieved, Henry went back to his cabin, while Killian closed the door and made her sit on the edge of the bed.

“Can you uncover your shoulders?” he asked.

She didn’t know what he was planning, but she didn’t hesitate: using her magic, she found herself topless. Killian’s lips parted as he gazed at her.

“Well, that’s more than I was hoping for,” he said, making her smile.

“That’s nothing you’ve never seen.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the view as if it was the first time,” he said with a crooked smile, struggling to tear his gaze away from her.

“What are you up to?”

“You don’t seem to believe me when I say your magic is not something to be afraid of, or that you’ll control it. I intend to prove my point.”

He went to sit down behind her and wrapped his hooked arm around her. Gathering the blonde curls on one side, he uncovered the left side of her neck and her shoulder, on which he softly placed his chin.

“Look at your hands, love,” he said, holding one of them. “They’re flaring. Because you’re afraid. Your magic has always been triggered by your emotions. The more you’re afraid, the least you can control the flares.”

“I think I know that already. Where are you going with this?”

“You need to relax, and to keep believing you will control it again.” Placing his hand on her shoulder, he tenderly massaged her. “Close your eyes, focus on what you’re feeling.”

She gladly complied, and silence blanketed them while he pressed his lips against her skin, slowly trailing kisses down her neck and over her shoulder. After a moment, he glanced at her hands and looked satisfied.

“Look, your hands have stopped flaring,” he made her notice. “See?”

“How do you always know so well what to do?”

“I simply know you.” He tightened his embrace, pressing his cheek against hers. “Do you remember this moment at the ball when I kissed your neck like I’ve just done? You asked me what I was doing, reminding me no one else was kissing. I was simply trying to distract you, and it worked: your hands then stopped flaring. And now, it worked again. I know we can do it. Believe in our love.”

He hugged her and, leaning back against him, she closed her eyes, feeling hopeful. But soon, the flares reappeared.

“They started again,” she sighed. “And you can’t spend your life kissing me.”

“Try me,” he chuckled. Seeing her thoughtful look, he became serious again. “My point is that we can do it. Now, we just need some time to figure out how to make it permanent.”

She shook her head.

“What is it, love?”

“Today I’ve lost control and I’ve hurt you. But still, you’re putting so much faith in me.” She paused, biting her lip and staring at her hands, her thoughts wandering, before she looked up at him. “No matter what happens, you will always love me, won’t you?”

His eyebrows raised in surprise. “What would I do if I stopped loving you? I cannot see a single reason why I’d ever stop.”

Hating to know she had doubts about this, he felt the need to comfort her and tightened his embrace, pressing his lips against her skin.

* * *

“Mum!” Sitting up in bed, Henry instantly put his book away when he saw her enter his cabin. “Are you feeling good?”

He had not dared to bring up the subject during dinner. Emma had actually avoided talking about magic during the rest of the day. At his question, she smiled, sat down on the side of his bed, and told him she was alright. But he didn’t seem to be fooled.

“I agree with Killian. You shouldn’t get rid of your magic.” Since she seemed surprised he was aware of it, he quickly added, “I’ve heard you talk when you were on deck.”

“Then, you probably know I’ve hurt him. I can’t control it anymore, it’s dangerous.”

“How can you get rid of it?” he asked, giving into his natural curiosity.

“I don’t know. Rumplestitskin says there is a way, I don’t care about the details.”

“I think it’s a bad idea. Your magic makes you smile. You shouldn’t get rid of something that makes you happy.”

“But it hasn’t been making me happy, lately. I’ve hurt Killian. I could have hurt you.”

“But you haven’t,” he said with a smile, trying to show her the situation wasn’t as bad as it could be. “If Killian says he can help you control it, trust him.”

“You’re right.”

She hugged him and he hugged her even tighter, thinking he had convinced her.

“You should sleep.” She tucked him in and kissed his cheek. “Good night. I love you.”

Henry’s features lit up; it was actually the first time she was telling him the words.

“Me too! Good night.”

Emma turned off his light and left, her forced smile vanishing as soon as she closed his door. She tried to use it again when she entered the quarters, but Killian saw past it.

“Love, come here.”

Gladly complying, she went to kiss him, putting all her energy into the kiss. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

“Emma, it’ll be alright.”

He kept her in his embrace for a while before they went to bed. But though exhausted, she couldn’t sleep. As Killian soon fell asleep, she found herself alone with her thoughts and her flaring hands, thinking all over again of how her magic had sent the man she loved away, risking to hurt him badly. Killian had been sleeping for about one hour when she softly pushed his arm away to free herself from his embrace. She stood still when she felt him move, and got up when his breathing became deep again. The light provided by the flares allowed her to catch a glimpse of his face one last time before she left the quarters. She didn’t know how Rumplestitskin could help her, but she couldn’t take the risk to hurt him or Henry; if her magic had a price, she had to pay it. No matter what happened, Killian would never stop loving her; that’s what he had told her.

* * *

Killian tightened his embrace, and opened his eyes as he realized she was not there anymore. Thinking she had lost control like it had happened during the day, he got up and rushed to the deck. But she wasn’t there either.

“Emma!” he called.

He ran down below deck and opened Liam’s door, but his cabin was empty as he was still with Ariel. He checked the quarters again, before quietly opening Henry’s door. There was still no trace of Emma. The boy was sleeping. Killian turned on his light.

“Henry?” he whispered, softly brushing his cheek with the back of his fingers.

“Hmm?” The boy turned around to look at Killian and asked with a sleepy voice, “What’s happening?”

“My apologies for waking you up, lad. Your mum left, did she tell you anything about it?”

“What? No, she never told me she’d leave… Wait!” And suddenly, the boy seemed to be wide awake and sat up. “She talked about getting rid of her magic!”


	14. Betrayal

Killian and Henry both thought about the previous evening, about the last time they had seen Emma, and realized she had indeed left the ship in order to get rid of her magic. The boy’s smile had vanished and he looked down.

“That’s why she told me she loved me. She knew she was leaving, she never planned on listening to me. I thought I had convinced her.”

“Henry, I haven’t seen it coming either,” reassured Killian. He was not smiling either, and was considering their options. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“We have to stop her,” Henry said, putting into words what the pirate was thinking. “Killian, she can’t get rid of her magic. She surely went to Rumplestitskin, we have to call him.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Killian headed to the door and indicated the boy to follow. Unable to shake this bad feeling he had, he knew there were two possibilities: the crocodile would come to them, or not.

“Crocodile!” Killian called once they were on the docks. But as he had feared, nothing happened.

“Maybe he doesn’t like being called that,” suggested Henry. “Rumplestitskin!”

There was still no sign of him on the docks.

“Lad, he usually comes instantly.”

“Maybe he’s just busy?” But Henry himself wasn’t convinced by this hypothesis.

“Come back.” Killian didn’t wait: he grabbed his wrist and pulled him back on board, under the cover of the protection spell. He knew they had to act fast, but his priority was to tell the boy what needed to be told, without hurting him. “Lad, I know you like him, but I really don’t know what he’s up to, this time. And if he doesn’t come when we call him, I’m afraid he might be up to something wrong.”

But Henry already seemed to have realized something was wrong. “Killian, I’m sorry. If I had stayed with Regina, if I hadn’t come to find Emma, she wouldn’t have asked Rumplestitskin to help with her magic. She’d still be safe, with you. I keep putting you both in danger. It’s all my fault.”

Killian was trying to think of a plan, but the guilt imprinting the boy’s words was enough to catch all his attention. He shook his head and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Lad, I won’t let you think like that. You coming into our lives is one of the best things that happened to us. Your mum and I both agree your place is here with us: you belong with us, you’re our son. Well… Emma’s, but…”

The words had simply escaped him, and Henry looked up with eyes full of hope. “You consider I’m your son?”

“Aye,” Killian admitted with a smile. “How could I not?”

He had been with Emma when she had met the boy, he had been there to welcome him on board and more generally into their lives, and he had been there for him all the time since then; there had never been a moment when he hadn’t taken care of him as if he was his own son. The boy was looking up at him admiringly, and suddenly hugged him tightly.

“You’re all I’ve always wanted as a father.”

“And you’re the perfect son.” He would have let this moment linger if he could have, but glancing up at the docks reminded him of a more urgent issue. “Let’s go and bring your mum back, with her magic.”

“Killian… If there’s really something wrong and he did something bad… Now, he knows we’re looking for him.”

“He won’t care, he won’t expect us to go to his mansion. Because he knows his place is protected. Bloody hell.” Killian grumbled as he realized the crocodile might be right: they couldn’t find him.

“It’s protected but I know where he lives.”

“You do?”

“Yes. I think. I need your map of the land.”

Running to the quarters, Killian rummaged through the chest in which his maps were stored, until picking the one he was looking for. He spread it out on the table and watched the boy studying it, wondering how he knew, or whether he’d be able to locate the Dark One’s mansion. Unwilling to add any more pressure, he tried to say nothing, but curiosity got the better of him.

“How do you know where he lives?” Killian asked; though he had been there every day, Rumplestitskin had always brought them directly inside, and he had no idea what was around.

“I went to his place several times, I know it well. And there’s something you should know: in front of the main door, there’s a gate, and he told me anyone going through this gate triggers an alarm, so he knows who’s there. This gate could be annoying. But only the front side of the mansion is protected.”

“Alright,” Killian frowned. “What’s the point of an enchanted gate if it’s not surrounding the entire place?”

Henry shrugged. “He’s weird. But who would choose not to take the main entrance when there’s a nice path leading there?”

“Is there another entrance?” asked Killian.

“No.”

“Well, we’ll figure out some way.”

Henry went back to studying the map. Luckily, reading maps was one of the things Killian had taught him, and he had been playing with this one map of the land enough times to know where they were or where Regina’s castle was.

“This path,” Henry suddenly said, pointing one of the lines on the map. “That’s the one we were always taking when we went horse-riding with Regina. On this path there’s a tree I love, a willow tree. And I could see it when I went out of Rumplestitskin’s mansion.”

“Lad, how can you be sure that’s the same tree?” Killian was willing to trust him, but he couldn’t take any risk. “There could be many of these willow trees, whatever that is.”

“It was the same one. From this path, we had a view of a valley. His mansion is in this valley, the willow tree looked like it was on a hill. I’m sure the path was there.”

“Alright. Very good, lad. Is there anything else you know?”

“The willow tree should be somewhere over there,” he said, trailing his finger over a part of the path. “I’ll recognize it, we can’t miss it. When I was outside his mansion, facing the hill, I could see the tree,” Henry closed his eyes as he pictured the memories in his mind, and indicated a direction on his left, “at about eleven o’clock. So if we arrive from here…”

“His mansion will be at two o’clock once we reach this tree,” finished Killian, unable to stop himself from feeling proud of the boy. “You’re amazing, do you know that? Let’s go and find your mum!”

The Dark One’s mansion didn’t seem so far. Killian stared at the large map, just long enough to memorize the path they needed to take. He then quickly tucked his compass in his pocket and grabbed a lantern, before taking Henry’s hand and running to the docks.

“Should we call Liam?”

“We don’t have time for this,” said Killian, heading towards the stable of the village. “I take it you know how to ride a horse?”

“Yes! Are we going to steal horses?”

“Let’s rather say we’re borrowing them.”

* * *

“It’s ready.”

Emma turned around. She had tried to distract herself by looking at the different objects stored on the shelf, but she had been unable to think of anything else than her hands which hadn’t stopped flaring. When she had walked on the docks and called him, Rumplestitskin had come instantly and brought her to his mansion. She had told him she wanted to get rid of her magic, and he had told her to wait, because there was something he needed to prepare. There had been already so many thoughts running through her mind that she hadn’t even thought of questioning him, and had waited for him.

He was now back and indicated her to follow him into a part of the mansion where she had never been. They stopped in front of a closed door.

“So, what do I need to do?”

“I've cast the spell inside that room. All you have to do is step through the door.” But he saw she was hesitating. “Is something wrong?”

The bright light she could see through the crack in the door had made her wonder what was about to happen to her, and she had then been thinking of Killian and Henry.

“Just... I’ve talked with Killian and Henry about getting rid of my magic. Both told me not to do it. They said I shouldn’t get rid of something that makes me happy.”

“Has your magic been making you happy lately?”

“That's what I said.” She glanced at the door and, though she wasn’t willing to take any more risks to hurt the ones she loved, it was like a part of her was trying to convince her not to step through it.

“But you still have doubts.”

“Do you blame me?”

“No,” he simply replied. It was one of these times when he was exceptionally calm, and Emma was glad he was, because she wouldn’t be able handle his usual eccentricity. She couldn’t stop thinking of Killian and Henry. She wanted to go back to them, but with her magic, she was too dangerous. She had to get rid of it first.

“Is it safe? Will I be okay?”

“No magic is without risk, even magic used to take away magic.”

“But it's going to stop me from hurting people?”

“That much I can promise, yes,” he reassured. “Look, this is very much your choice. I did tell you it was a major decision to take.”

“What would you do?”

“I wouldn't go in there for anything.”

“What? Why?” This had not been the answer she had been expected; she had thought he would have encouraged her to step through the door.

“Because, dearie, I'm not like you. I'm a man who always chooses power and, a power like yours? Never would I get rid of it! But you, Emma? What you value the most are your pirate and your son; people you have or could have hurt because of your magic.”

She stepped towards the door; his words had convinced her. She had hurt Killian and could have done even worse to him. It also could have been Henry. And the flares were still out of control. No matter how loud this little voice inside her was screaming not to do it, she had to step through the door and get rid of her magic.

“Rumplestitskin?” The man, who had started to walk away, turned around. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” he said before walking away.

* * *

“Lad, be watchful! We should reach your tree soon.”

Killian needed to shout in order to be heard by the boy, as the light rain they had when leaving the ship had turned into a pouring rain, making the journey even more uncomfortable. He had memorized the map and knew they were now on this portion of the path Henry had indicated. Galloping through the night, lit only by the lantern hanging from his hook, he was staying as close from the boy as he could, to provide him as much light as possible, so he could see the trees around them.

“This one!” Henry indicated the tree which had just came into light ahead of them. “That’s the willow tree I was talking about!”

“Well done, lad!”

They slowed down as they reached the tree. They knew which direction they had to follow, but there was no path there; they would need to ride through the forest. Killian looked up but, of course, the clouds were hiding all the stars. Pulling his compass out, he examined it before tucking it back inside his pocket.

“Let’s go!” Killian said, indicating him to follow.

They went as fast as they could, though they couldn’t go as fast as on the path. Minutes went by and Henry was feeling more and more nervous.

“Killian, what if I was wrong?”

“Worry not, lad. We will find Emma.”

They kept riding and, despite Killian’s words, Henry was worrying more and more.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have trusted me.”

But Killian had noticed how the forest was becoming less thick.

“You said a path was leading to the main entrance. Look at this,” Killian pointed a path which was starting right in front of them. “If his mansion is protected, the path leading there probably isn’t linked to any other paths. Just like this one.”

As they followed the path, the forest was less and less thick. At last, they entered the area covered by the protection spell and the mansion suddenly appeared to them. Killian grabbed the reins of Henry’s horse as fast as he could and pulled him out of the path; out of view. Back on his feet, he helped the boy get off the horse.

“I don’t know what he’s up to, but I fear he’s doing something wrong. Do not say his name,” said Killian, exposing the plan he had thought of. “We increase our chances of finding her if we split up. She must be inside. I will cross the gate, so that he knows I’m here. He will probably come to me. It’s better if he doesn’t know you’re here as well: while I’m with him, find another way to enter the mansion, like another door or a window, and find your mum.”

“You should go and find her, she will listen to you more easily than me.”

“I’m not sending you to him, he might be dangerous. You go and find Emma, you’re her son; she trusts you. Just be careful not to be seen. He has to believe I came here alone.” The thought the crocodile might not come even when he would walk through the door crossed his mind, and he added, “Wait here until you see him with me. Then, you run. Go and find your mum, and bring her back. You can do it, lad.”

Henry nodded and stayed hidden behind the tree, watching as Killian headed toward the mansion.

Pretending he didn’t know anything about the enchanted gate, Killian ran and crossed it while shouting, “Emma!”

“Watch your step, captain.” As expected, Rumplestitskin had appeared. He used his magic to close the gate, and stood in front of the pirate. The fact he was blocking the way tended to confirm Killian’s fears: the Dark One was up to something wrong.

“Where is she? Where’s Emma?”

“Inside. How about I treat you to a front row seat and you can attend the outcome of a story you didn’t even know you were a part of? An annoying secondary character you’ve been, but the woman you love happens to be much more interesting.”

“What did you do to her?” Having no idea what the crocodile was talking about, he was glaring at him, his jaw clenching. “Out of my way, crocodile!”

“Not so fast!”

The next second, Killian felt his feet leave the ground. His back violently banged something hard, and ropes coiled around his wrists, his body and his ankles; he was tied up to the gate. It was impossible for him to move. He was tempted to look back and check whether he could see Henry from here, but unwilling to give any hint about his presence, he didn’t. He simply hoped the boy had left before seeing how he was now held prisoner against the gate, and would find a way to get inside the mansion and find Emma.

“Before you depart, let me tell you a story. I am sure you will be delighted to hear it.” If he had been calm with Emma, his usual eccentricity was now back.

“Emma!” Struggling against the ties, Killian shouted desperately.

“Try all you like; with that pouring rain, she won’t be able to hear you. And you won’t be able to free yourself.” The Dark One sniggered. “Listen to my story instead. It started a very long time ago, at this time when I was weak and mortal like all of you; at this time when I’ve made the worst choice I’ve ever made and, because of this choice, I’ve lost my son. My Bae. He fell through a portal and I’ve done nothing to prevent it. He was only fourteen, and I’ve never seen him again.”

“How touching,” said Killian, still trying to free himself. “What does it have to do with us? Let me go and find Emma!”

“Do not interrupt me, pirate!” Rumplestitskin said with his theatrical ways. Killian kept trying to free himself, in vain. Ignoring him, the Dark One went on with his story. “I’ve lost my son a very long time ago, and I’ve spent my life looking for him since then.”

“If it’s been such a long time, how can you know he’s even alive after all these years?”

“Prophecies, dearie. A prophecy told me a boy would lead me to him. It was quite unclear at that time, because the boy wasn’t born yet. And later, I got a confirmation my son was alive: someone… someone I’m sharing a complicated past with, told me that, after falling through this portal, my Bae had been with him, in Neverland. Of course, when he told me that, it was too late, and Bae was already in another realm: a land without magic. But it was such a long time ago that I’ve lost track of him, and in this case, even magic wasn’t enough. The only way for me to find him was to go directly to this land. I’ve asked Regina to cast a curse which would bring us all to this other realm, this land without magic where I needed to be. But she had finally won against the one she had considered for years as her greatest enemy, so she didn’t need the Dark Curse. Instead, she used the dagger on me, and cursed me.”

“The Dark One’s dagger? This thing’s real?” asked Killian, remembering reading about this dagger which was the only thing that could stop a Dark One. He had given up on struggling, and kept casting glances at the mansion, hoping to see Henry and Emma appear any time.

Ignoring him again, the Dark One went on, using a tone of voice making him sound like a victim reporting a crime. “She used the dagger to curse me, and because of this curse I’m trapped here: I can’t go to any other realm. Even if there’s a portal open right in front of me, I won’t be able to go through it.”

“That’s why you hate her,” guessed Killian.

“But tonight, Emma will give me what I need to solve this problem of dagger, and I will be able to leave this place and find my son.”

“What are you bloody talking about?” Killian desperately tried to free himself again and Rumplestitskin sniggered.

“Why, her magic of course! She still had doubts when I left her, but any time now, she should make her decision and give me what I need.”

Killian glared at the man, realizing what his words could mean; he had always been caring only about Emma’s magic. “You’ve been lying this whole time, from the beginning. Your aim has never been to protect us, or to help Emma. You were only acting for your own interest.”

Killian kept struggling but he knew there was nothing he could do, other than staying there and keeping the crocodile busy as long as he could, to give Henry as much time as possible to find Emma.

“Did you really think I’d do something for anyone but me?”

“How could you do this to Henry?” asked Killian “He trusted you.”

“Henry is a nice boy. He actually reminds me of my son, sometimes. But he also happens to be an essential part of the story: he’s the boy of the prophecy, the one leading me to my son, because he is the one who led me to Emma and her magic. When I’ve learned she was giving him up for adoption, I knew I had to keep him close to me. And, what a coincidence, Regina happened to be at this time in need of a child, to fill the void left by the sudden loss of her beloved father. After what she had done to me, I couldn’t resist the temptation to arrange the adoption for her; to bring her the baby who happened to be her greatest enemy’s grandson.”

“How could you find Emma’s baby if you can’t even find your own son? How could you even bring him to this realm?”

“I’ve lost my son at the moment when he went through that portal, but I never make the same mistakes twice: I’ve kept track of Emma all these years, from the moment when Regina sent her away when she was just a newborn, so I knew where to find Henry. I couldn’t go there myself, but there’s someone I know who makes quite useful hats so I sent him there instead; there was something he wanted from me, I accepted to give it to him in exchange of the baby. With Emma, it seemed more complicated: I didn’t know how I was supposed to bring her to this realm. But she happened to come by herself. It then became much easier than I thought it would be, when you decided to ask for my help to find your love when Regina took her away from you. I had to help you, so that you would agree to come and see me again. And you did. And Henry, who already trusted me thanks to all these years I’ve spent by his side, then did exactly what I wanted him to do: he convinced Emma that I was her best chance, that I was the only one who could help her with her magic. The boy already trusted me. All I needed to do was to win your trust as well. To do anything you wanted and make you believe I was on your side, while I was in fact simply developing Emma’s magic because, the more powerful her magic is, the better.”

“When I asked you on the docks what you’d ask in return for helping Emma with her magic, you said you wouldn’t ask for anything. You even promised,” Killian reminded him.

“And I’ve kept that promise. I haven’t asked for anything, and I won’t. Dearie, I don’t need to ask: I just take. She’s the one who asked me to help her get rid of it.”

“You’re playing with words!” He glared at the man, his jaw clenching as he realized they had been played the whole time. There was still no hint of her presence or the boy’s, and his only hope was that she had been hesitating long enough to give Henry the time to find her. He desperately called again. “Emma!”

“Of course, I’ve done what was needed to lead her to that point. Do you really think she simply happened to lose control? No, dearie. Whenever she was struggling to use her magic, I was bringing her to one of these alternate realities. She was usually more successful there because the potion was not only meant to create the alternate reality, but also to boost her magic and, in the end, make her lose control.”

“You’ve said her loss of control was caused by Regina, at the ball! You’ve said it would improve with time. That she just needed to wait a few days!”

“Well, I’ve lied. No matter how hard she would try, I knew there was no way she could get it back under control. And I didn’t want her to. I wanted her to be willing to get rid of her magic, so I’ve kept bringing her to this alternate reality every day, while making her believe her loss of control was due to Regina.”

“What kind of man are you?” Knowing that, all this time, he had been using the woman he loved, was the most unbearable thought.

“I’m the Dark One, dearie. And the Dark One plays, the Dark One tricks. I’ve lost my son years ago, and I want to get him back. Now, I can.”

“Why Emma? What does she have to do with your son?”

“Emma has nothing to do with him. Her magic simply happens to be the key. I will find him, because I will now have all I need: her magic, and this.”

Killian panicked as he instantly recognized what Rumplestitskin was holding in his hand. “Whose heart is this?”

“Milah’s.”

Relieved it was not Emma’s, Killian was still shocked. “You sacrificed your wife?”

“I had no choice. To cast this spell which will finally separate me from the dagger, so that it will no longer hold power over me, I need the heart of someone special, someone who knew me before the dagger; before I was the Dark One. She was the only one fitting that description. I guess I’ll just need to find another maid. And maybe this time I won’t need to use this enchanted sand from the mystic island of Avalon to make her stay.”

“What the bloody hell are you talking about?”

“Nothing of your interest, dearie. But perhaps you’d be interested to know I am about to sacrifice the woman you love as well.”

“NO!” Killian shouted; all this time, he had been hoping they’d stop her from getting rid of her magic, but he hadn’t dared to consider the option that the crocodile was planning on doing even worse than stealing her magic.

“There is, inside, a hat which will collect her powers. Right now, she is standing in front of that door, making sure getting rid of her magic is what she wants. Once she opens the door, there will be no going back. Not only her powers will be taken; she’ll be sucked in too.”

“EMMA!” Killian yelled, but the rain was still pouring and making it impossible for her to hear him. He was struggling harder than ever, but it was making no difference.

“It should be happening soon, now.”

“I’ll die fighting before I let you use that bloody hat on Emma!”

“I was thinking death could wait but actually…” Rumplestitskin pretended to consider his offer for a second. “With pleasure!”

Killian let out a cry of pain as the Dark One ripped his heart out.

* * *

Watching from behind the trees, Henry watched Killian running to the mansion. He didn’t need to wait long before seeing another figure appear. Doing as Killian had told him, he ran towards the back of the mansion, keeping an eye on the windows he was going past. But no window was opened and, like in his memories, there wasn’t any door other than the main one. There was light coming out of most of the windows, allowing him to see inside, but all the rooms were empty. One of the windows then caught his attention, because the light coming out of it was different; more intense and fluctuating. At first thinking the light was coming from Emma’s magic, he could see once he peeked inside that it was coming from a hat. The boy felt like his mother could be standing on the other side of the door. He also felt like, if the hat was the solution to take away her magic, he really needed to stop her before she would open the door, because the hat suggested nothing good. Running to the next window, there was still no sign of his mother. He had been hoping she would be in one of the rooms and he could just knock on the window to draw her attention, but the hat had convinced him that she was probably in the corridor, standing in front of the door which would lead her to this hat; he needed to find a way to enter as quickly as possible. Afraid of not being fast enough, he tried not to panic and thought of all the heroes in the books he had read: they could be afraid, but they always tried to remain calm and do the right thing. Henry examined the window and tried to push it open, but as he had expected, it was locked. Taking deep breaths, he looked down at the ground and found what he was looking for: a stone. He tossed it against the window pane, but it wasn’t enough. He tried again, tossing it harder, but the window pane was still intact. Picking it up on the ground and clutching it in his hand, he closed his eyes and took another deep breath. Killian was believing in him, he had told him he could do it. He needed to believe too. Opening his eyes, he took a step back, and chucked the stone as hard as he could. This time, the impact was accompanied by a sound of shattering glass as the window pane started to break.

“Yes!”

Henry tossed the stone again and, this time, it went through the window. Hitting the pane with his elbow, he finished to shatter the glass, and carefully climbed inside. Rushing toward the door, he burst into the corridor, and found Emma exactly where he had been expecting to find her: standing behind the door leading to the hat, below a chandelier whose light was flickering. Her hand was on the door handle.

“Mum, stop!”

Emma started with surprise and turned to him. “Henry! What are you doing here? How did you…?”

“I came with Killian. You can’t get rid of your magic!”

“Where is he?”

“Outside with… you know who. I can’t say his name. It would summon him, and he must not know I’m here as well, that’s what Killian said. Mum, you can’t get rid of your magic,” he repeated.

He was keeping his distance from her, knowing from what had happened in the morning with Killian that coming too close would lead to nothing good.

“Henry, my magic is a danger for all of you. I’ve been hesitating for a long time, but it’s the right thing to do. I need to step through that door.”

“No! Mum, it’s dangerous!”

“I know. No magic is without risk,” Emma repeated what the Dark One had told her. “But that’s the price to pay. I can’t take the risk to hurt you, or Killian again.”

“This is not just a risk. It’s dangerous! Mum! I’ve seen what’s inside the room.”

“And you’ve seen what my magic can do. Look at this,” Emma indicated her flaring hands and the flickering chandelier. “It’s all because of my magic. Rump…” She stopped herself from saying his name right in time. “He promised me I won’t hurt anyone again if I step through the door.”

“Because you can’t hurt anyone if this hat kills you! Mum, what if it’s truly dangerous? I’ve seen how it is, inside this room. This hat looks very bad. What if it kills you? Mum, please, don’t do it.”

“Henry… Do you really think Rump… he would do something which would kill me?”

“Killian thinks there’s something wrong with him. If getting rid of your magic was easy, he would have told you how it worked. But he told you nothing. Mum, I love your magic. Killian loves it too, and he can help you with it. Killian also said you would trust me. He trusted me to bring you back, with your magic. Please, don’t open this door.” Seeing she was still hesitating, he added, “Or I’ll come inside with you.”

“Henry, no, it could be dangerous,” she said, only now caring about the danger waiting for her on the other side of the door. She was now remembering a conversation she had with Killian and the Dark One, a conversation when the Dark One had said she needed to be protected because of her power; if she was getting rid of her magic, he would probably stop putting so much energy into keeping her safe.

“I know it could be dangerous. This is why I can’t let you do this. If you step through that door, I’ll come with you. But I don’t want to go inside. I want to go back to the ship. Please, come home with me. Killian is waiting for us outside.”

Realizing Henry might be right and the Dark One might be truly up to something wrong, the thought of Killian being with him suddenly worried her. “Let’s go!”

Relieved to see she was not talking about the room with the hat, Henry followed her towards the front door. While she opened it, she heard Killian’s cry of pain. The view turned her blood to ice: she instantly recognized the red glowing object in the Dark One’s hand, and it reminded her of this alternate reality where Regina had ripped his heart out right in front of her. There was just enough light to allow her seeing that Killian was tied up to the gate, obviously in pain.

Killian’s pain was indescribable. As Rumplestitskin squeezed his heart, he felt like he could barely breathe. Keeping his eyes closed the whole time, he had not noticed Emma was there, with Henry standing right behind her. But suddenly, the pain vanished, air filled his lungs, and an enjoyable wave of warmth spread through his body. He opened his eyes and saw his heart was now in Emma’s hand. The Dark One was immobilized, and it reminded Killian of how the Evil Queen had immobilized his crew, on the first time when she had taken the woman he loved away from him. But this time, it was Emma who had done it: she had neutralized him, making him unable to do anything. Emma focused on Killian and he felt the ties loosen, until he was finally free. He didn’t care about how his heart was outside his chest; he was so relieved to see her alive and with her magic that he ran to her under the pouring rain and kissed her. As his fingers went through her damp hair and his lips molded hers, for a moment he forgot the hatred he was feeling towards the man who was still immobilized behind him.

But Emma was unable to lose herself so easily, and she broke the kiss to look down at the heart she was holding in her hands; her hands which had finally stopped flaring. It had all happened so fast that she was still trying to process: when seeing Killian’s heart in the Dark One’s hand, she had instinctively summoned it to her. She had barely been aware of what she was doing when she had neutralized Rumplestitskin; she glanced at him over Killian’s shoulder to check he was still immobile. The fact she had been able to do this without even realizing was slightly scaring her. And then, there was this heart, which she had seen already several times, in alternate realities or nightmares, being taken out of Killian’s chest. But each time, she had awaken or come back to her reality before seeing how to put it back where it belonged.

Killian was staring at her and, after being so afraid he would never see her again, was relieved that he was still able to simply enjoy gazing at her. Looking down at his heart reminded him where they were.

“Come on, love. We should go.”

“But…” Emma glanced up at him and indicated his heart.

“It can wait. I’ll be fine.” Killian caught Henry’s eye and nodded approvingly. “Well done, my boy. I knew you could do it. Are you alright?”

“Yes!”

“Good. We need to go, now. We’re not safe here.” Killian glanced back at the Dark One, who was still prisoner of Emma’s magic, and his jaw clenched.

“Was he really about to do something wrong?” Henry asked, coming closer to the pirate.

“He betrayed all of us,” replied Killian.

“Then, we’re not safe anywhere, anymore.” The boy’s face was imbued with disappointment as he stared at the one who had been helping him all these years. “We need to leave, far away.”

It was only then that Emma tore her gaze away from the heart and looked up, a thought crossing her mind as she heard the boy’s words.

“We can surely find a safe place in this realm, but in case we decide to leave very far away… Henry, you know Rumplestitskin better than us. Do you know where he could be hiding precious objects?”

“I know there’s this vault in the wall. I’ve found it one day. It’s behind the painting, in the back of the room, on the left side of the wardrobe.”

“Very good.”

“What are you looking for?”

Emma didn’t reply and closed her eyes, visualizing the room, the wardrobe, the painting. She didn’t know whether it would work but since her magic had been reflecting her thoughts very easily, she had to try. The painting on the wall needed to be removed. The vault needed to be opened. She focused on the dried magic bean she had found at the top of the beanstalk; the one Killian had traded against a locator spell to find her. Killian guessed what she was trying to do and, believing in her and her magic, looked up at the mansion and silently waited. Following his gaze, Henry imitated him. The rain was easing off. Killian felt this same kind of warmth than when Emma had summoned his heart to her, or when he had taken her flaring hand; this warmth was coming from her magic, and since he could feel it, he knew it would work. This was why he wasn’t surprised when he saw the magic bean coming out of the mansion through the open door and floating towards them.

“Awesome!” said Henry as he recognized it.

Killian was the one to grab the bean, and tucked it in his pocket.

“Amazing, love. As always.” He kissed her cheek and glanced back at Rumplestitskin. Seeing what Emma could do, he thought of something else. “Love, do you remember in this book about the Dark One, there was something about a dagger. There was a drawing of this dagger. It’s real. Regina used it on him, to force him not to leave this realm. I’m sure that, after this, he didn’t take any risk to be controlled again. He’s probably keeping the dagger. Perhaps in this same vault. Can you try to summon it as well?”

Emma had no idea about what he wanted to do with it, but she complied. Again, Killian felt the warmth of her magic spreading through his body and he guessed it was working. Indeed, the dagger arrived like the magic bean a moment earlier, and Killian seized it. He glanced at it, looking at Rumplestitskin’s name written on the blade, and looked up at Emma.

“Can he still hear us?” he asked.

“Yes. He’s just unable to move.”

“Until when?”

“Until I decide to free him. I think. But what do you want to do with this?”

“Insuring our safety,” said Killian. He stepped towards the Dark One and, holding the dagger in front of him, glared at him. “You will not hurt or do anything which could harm Emma, Henry, Liam, me, or anyone we care about, ever again. Anything which would turn out to be potentially hazardous to any of us, you won’t be able to do. And nothing or no-one can make you go against this statement.”

Listening to his words, Emma knew that no one could have done any better. Standing beside her, Henry was admiringly staring at him.

“Let’s go before I’m tempted to use the dagger to stab him,” Killian said as he came back to them.

“Are we keeping the dagger?” Henry asked.

“No. This dagger is now useless to us, and it’s much too powerful. I’m not taking the risk to keep it.” He tossed the dagger inside the mansion. “We need to go.”

“But Killian, we can’t leave now… Your heart…” Emma was still carefully holding it in her hands.

“My love…” Every hint of hatred towards the Dark One disappeared to let tenderness imprint his features. He came even closer and softly brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers, while gazing at her. “I’m trusting you to keep my heart safe. I’ve always had. Do you remember when I gave you my mother’s ring? I’ve told you I’d trust you with my heart. I didn’t mean it literally then, but now I do.”

“Killian, I…” Speechless, Emma was gazing at the heart, and lost herself in thoughts.

“Come with me, love. The horses are over there. We have to go.”

Emma remained lost in her thoughts while Killian led her towards the forest. Killian got on the horse first.

“Lad, your mum may need her hands right now. Can you just…”

“Hold your heart?” Henry asked, looking slightly worried at the idea.

“Just for a moment. I’ll be fine as long as you don’t squeeze it in your hand.”

Killian flashed him a smile and Emma carefully handed the heart over to him. Very cautiously, Henry kept it in his hands while Killian helped her to get on the horse, and handed it back as soon as she was settled.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Emma asked, looking back at him.

“Affirmative! My heart has never been in better hands,” Killian reassured while securely wrapping his hooked arm around her. “Let’s go back home.”

They left, and Emma’s only focus was on the heart; the most precious thing she had ever hold in her hands. Caring only about keeping it safe, she leant back against Killian, and protectively held his heart with both hands against her chest while they rode back to the ship.


	15. Heart

Many things had happened on that night, and many of them she did not understand, but Emma decided she would worry about them later. All she cared about was Killian’s heart; the heart she was cautiously holding with both hands against her chest, and whose beat she was feeling against her own heart. She would need to put it back where it belonged, but they had preferred to leave the Dark One’s mansion as soon as possible and to ride back to the ship. There, they would have all the time they needed, and they could sail away and leave far from the land. The only reason why they had been staying there for weeks had been Rumplestitskin: she had needed him to work on her magic. But after his betrayal, they would hopefully never need to see him ever again. His betrayal was one of the things she didn’t understand, as she had got no time to ask Killian yet. But it could wait. All that mattered was that he was trusting her with his heart; his heart which was beating in her hands while he was securely holding her against him and riding the horse. Emma looked sideways at her son, and all she could feel was pride. She wasn’t proud only because he was riding a horse as well as a knight, but because her son, this young boy who was seeing her and Killian as heroes, was a hero himself: he had been the one talking her out of getting rid of her magic; he had saved her, and he barely seemed to realize.

The two horses kept galloping through the forest. The rain had stopped, which was making the journey easier. At last, Emma recognized where they were as they entered the oceanfront village where the Jolly Roger was moored. Killian led them to the stable and got off the horse, before carrying Emma and putting her back on her feet.

“Everything’s all right, lad?” Killian asked.

“Yes!” He hadn’t needed any help to get off the horse and leave the animal next to Killian’s.

“Great. Let’s go! We need to leave the land.”

Relieved to be back on the ship, Emma was feeling like she was at home. They set sail and dropped anchor not very far. Liam hadn’t come back from the underwater kingdom yet, but he and Killian had agreed on a spot where he could find the ship, may they need to leave the land.

“Mum? You know how to put it back, right?” Henry asked her once they had dropped anchor, indicating the heart she was still holding in her hands.

“I will find a way.”

She flashed him a smile which was instantly reflected on his features. “Can you come and tuck me in, like you did in the evening? With Killian?”

“Of course.”

“But this time, you don’t run away.”

“I promise this won’t happen again. Go. I’m coming with Killian in a few minutes.”

* * *

Henry was sitting in bed and waiting for them when they entered his cabin. Despite the fact it was already late into the night, he seemed to be wide awake.

“Mum! This time, you’re the one who doesn’t know what happened. With Killian, we’ll have quite a tale to tell you!”

“And I’m sure you’ll be able to tell it even better than I. You’ll be the narrator, if you want to.” Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Killian winked at him and Henry’s smile brightened even more.

Emma was admiring her son. The boy had been risking his life and had faced the fear he wouldn’t manage to convince her not to step through that door, but despite all of this, he seemed to be nothing but happy; his features were imprinted with this usual cheerfulness she loved so much. She was admiring him for this ability he had to always be so optimistic and look on the bright side.

“You’ve truly been a hero, tonight,” she said, sitting down as well.

“And you weren’t even there when he located the crocodile’s mansion on a map,” Killian added. “I wouldn’t have known where to go, if it hadn’t been for him.”

“You did that?” Emma asked Henry.

“Yes! Operation Save the Light was a success!” Henry replied enthusiastically.

“Operation Save the Light?” asked Killian.

“That’s how I’ve decided to call it. Our operation to save mum and her magic!”

“I love this name. Quite a team we made!”

“Yes!”

Killian raised his hand and Henry slapped it. The boy then tossed his arm around his neck and enthusiastically grabbed the pirate for a hug. He then remembered something and suddenly pulled back.

“Killian! Can I tell her?”

The pirate didn’t need to ask to guess what he was talking about. “Aye. You can tell her anything.”

Henry beamed and turned to Emma. “Mum! Killian said he considers me as his son!”

Both were looking at her to judge her reaction. First, she had witnessed this hug which she had found adorable, and now this; she was feeling like her heart was melting.

“Of course he does. He’s been there for you at least as much as I have.”

Looking like the happiest boy in the world, Henry thoughtfully frowned and looked at Killian again. “Does that mean I can call you dad?”

Not expecting this question, Killian chuckled. “I may need some time to get used to it, but I guess you can.”

“I think I’ll need some time too,” said Henry. “I’ve never called someone that.”

“For now, what you need is to get some rest. Even heroes need to sleep.” Emma’s words made Henry smile brightly again. “And do not think I’ve told you I love you just because I was planning on leaving. I do love you.”

“Me too!”

She kissed his cheek and got up. She indicated Killian his heart she had been holding in her hands all this time and he got up as well.

“Good night, lad!”

* * *

“Are you alright, love?” Killian asked when he saw her thoughtfully staring at his heart, once they were back in their quarters.

“What happened exactly?” She hadn’t got the time to ask all of these questions she had, to understand why Rumplestitskin had betrayed them. “He has done so much for us.”

“He was doing it for himself,” answered Killian, sitting down by her side on the bed and brushing a blonde curl behind her ear. “To make it simple: he let his son fall through a portal and has been willing to find him since then. He asked the Evil Queen to help him but instead she used the dagger to curse him, and prevented him from travelling to any other realm. His solution was to separate himself from the dagger and, for that, he needed your magic, so he did everything to win our trust, made you work on your magic and lose control of it, to lead you to ask to get rid of it.”

Emma was looking at Killian with wide eyes. “So he’s been playing us the whole time.”

“Yes. He’s rotten to the core. Everything he’s done since the beginning aimed at stealing your magic.”

“You were right to hate him. You’ve never liked him. It’s like, somehow, you could feel he was bad. While I’ve trusted him. Usually I know when someone’s lying to me.”

“He’s the Dark One; lying is surely something he’s mastering. He betrayed all of us. But there’s something more important that you need to understand,” said Killian. Emma tore her gaze away from his heart and looked up, carefully listening to him. “Your magic, there’s nothing wrong with it. _He_ made you lose control, with this potion he was making you drink to take you to these alternate realities. He knew it; he did it on purpose because he wanted you to be willing to get rid of your magic. So, once the effect of this damn potion has worn off, you should be in control again.”

“Does that mean I won’t be able to do… all these things I’m able to do?”

“No, love. Your magic is powerful, and your abilities are a part of you. But losing control… it was because of him. There’s nothing wrong with you.” Killian tilted his head, thinking of her hands around his heart; no flare could be seen. “Speaking of, aren’t you starting to be in control?”

“I don’t know. There hasn’t been any flare since I’ve been holding your heart. I’ve been thinking of it on the way back: maybe holding your heart is like holding our love, and since our love often helps, maybe that’s why the flares have stopped?”

“Perhaps. I do love the idea of our love being the key.”

Gazing at his heart, Emma let her thoughts wander. She thought of how both Killian and Henry had told her not to get rid of her magic, and how she had not listened to them but had trusted the Dark One instead, and she bit her lip. “I’m sorry that I left.”

“You thought you were doing the right thing to protect us.”

“And instead I’ve put you both in danger.”

“Love, you were the one in danger.”

“The fact I’m holding your heart in my hands tends to prove you wrong.” She looked down at it. “I’m not sure how to…”

She trailed off, thinking of how to put it back. She could guess how she had to do it, but she wasn’t feeling very confident.

“Emma, we don’t need to take care about this now. Dawn will soon break and you also need your sleep. We can do it tomorrow.”

“I’m not letting you spend the night without your heart.”

“I can assure you I’m fine. Love, you’ve used so much magic tonight, you should get some rest.”

“After everything that happened tonight, I don’t think I can sleep now. At least not until you have your heart back inside your chest.”

Knowing he wouldn’t manage to convince her, he commented with a smirk, “You’re impossible.”

“And you love me for it.”

Emma flashed him a smile before staring at his heart again; this bright red heart beating in her hands, a heart brighter than in any of all the visions she had ever had. Not an ounce of darkness could be seen. The thought she was holding the heart of the man she loved and who loved her suddenly made her emotional and she bit her lip.

“It’s okay, love,” Killian empathized as he imagined how he would feel if the situation was reversed and if he was the one holding her heart in his hand. “Not everyone gets the chance to watch the heart of their love beat for them.”

A heart beating for her; his words got her even more emotional and she bit her lip even harder. At last, she was able to tear her gaze away from the heart, and looked up at him. “Does it hurt?”

“No. I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt. Not when it’s in your hands, or Henry’s. And when you’re the one holding it, I can even feel these waves of warmth, like when I hold your hand and it’s flaring.”

Emma smiled at the memory; she couldn’t forget how he had taken her hand while it had been flaring and how, while she had been afraid it would hurt him, he had admitted how enjoyable it was feeling. Lightly, her thumb grazed over his heart. His reaction was instant; since he wasn’t expected it, his lips parted and he closed his eyes, and she couldn’t help herself from smiling.

“Like this, exactly,” he whispered.

“But what does it feel like?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, opening his eyes again.

Carefully holding his heart in one hand, her other hand slipped in his neck and she shifted closer to kiss him. Instantly, he wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her so greedily and intensely that he swept her off her feet before she even had time to decide whether it was feeling different than usual.

“What does it feel like?” She asked again after a moment, when she remembered what had brought the kiss in the first place.

“Different,” he said. “Because I can feel there’s something missing. I can’t feel my heart thumping inside my chest like it usually does whenever your lips touch mine. But at the same time it feels the same. Because I still love you, if that’s what you mean.”

Emma glanced down at the heart, again holding it with both hands. “I thought we couldn’t love without a heart, that’s what’s written in all the books.”

“And I think this thing you’re holding in your hands is way too small for the infinite love I have for you. No, love, I believe my love for you runs through my veins. Ripping my heart out won’t stop me from loving you. Nothing will.”

“I like this theory,” she said with a smile. “But I still prefer it to be back where it belongs.”

“Are you feeling ready to put it back?”

“Yes. I think so. Can you stand up?” she asked, standing up as well. “And… take your shirt off?”

The pirate chuckled as he stood up. “The crocodile didn’t need me to be shirtless to rip it out.”

“Killian, that’s not funny. I’m serious, it seems easier to put it back this way.”

But he had just been teasing her and was already complying: he unbuttoned his vest and removed his shirt before stepping closer to stand right in front of her.

“Is there anything else I need to do?”

“Stand still.”

He nodded and did as he was told. Staring at his chest, holding his heart in both hands, Emma was feeling ready; if she was fast enough, it should work.

She was so focused on what she needed to do that she didn’t hear him say, “Just be gent…”

He was interrupted midsentence as her hand crashed against his chest and a loud moan escaped him. Emma knew it had worked, but the sound he had made and the way he was intensely looking at her made her think she maybe should have been less abrupt.

“Sorry. I just thought if I did it quickly, it'd be like…”

She was also interrupted midsentence and it was her turn to let a moan escape, as Killian’s lips crashed against hers. He made her step backwards until pinning her against the wall. There was passion, for definite. But at the same time, there was also all this tenderness making his moves so gentle; a sensitivity which had maybe been missing from the previous kiss when she had still been holding his heart in her hands. Forehead against forehead, he moved his head back but she followed, trying to reach for his lips again.

“I confirm it is better with a heart,” he said, with his forehead softly pushing her back against the wall, his hand slipping down her side and resting on her hip.

Still feeling like she hadn’t felt his lips against hers long enough, she went for another kiss. Her hands slipped down from his shoulders to his chest and she smiled as she felt his heart beat against her palm. She leant her head against the wall and looked him in the eye.

“Thank you for saving me. Again.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one thanking you?” Killian asked. “Love, you literally took care of my heart and put it back in its right place. You’ve been my savior.”

Emma didn’t completely agree; she might have saved him, but she had been the one putting her in danger in the first place. “Can’t we just say we saved each other?”

“Aye, we can.”

Intensely gazing at her, his hand slipped under her top to rest directly against her skin, and he tenderly kissed her neck; so tenderly that she felt the need to wrap her arms around his shoulders to hold onto him and stop her legs from giving way.

“We should sleep,” he whispered, making her lightly shiver as his breath fluttered against her skin.

“I feel like sleep can wait.”

She reached for his hand on her hip and led him to remove her top. Their lips found each other’s again. She tightened her arms around his neck and crossed her legs around his hips, melting in his tender embrace.

* * *

Dawn was breaking, but Killian and Emma were still awake. She was lying on top of him, and they were gazing into each other’s eyes while he was caressing her back.

“You still don’t feel like sleeping?” he asked.

She shook her head; too much had happened during the night. It was like she hadn’t collected herself yet. Even sharing this moment of tenderness with Killian had only momentarily stopped all these thoughts from running through her mind. Sleeping simply didn’t seem to be the priority.

“You? Do you want to sleep?” she inquired.

“Not before you do.”

She lightly tilted her head on the side, wondering whether he was afraid she would leave again. “I promise I’ll be there when you wake up.”

“It’s not that,” he said with a smile. “That’s something I didn’t get the chance to do in the evening, as I fell asleep too soon, but I enjoy watching you as you fall asleep; to feel your heartbeat calm down, your breathing deepen, your hold on my hand or on my arm loosen. I simply love the thought I’m the one you’re holding on to when you sleep; this feeling like it’s just us, you and me.”

Emma looked him in the eye and wondered how he was able to make her feel like she was melting with just a few words; to her, this was poetry. But eventually, she decided she didn’t want to know how he was doing that, and was simply glad he could.

“My Killian,” she sighed with delight, cupping his cheeks and leaning her forehead against his.

He tenderly wrapped her in his arms and silence blanketed them. She thought about his heart she had been holding in her hands; this heart so bright she had put back in its right place. Suddenly needing to feel its beat, she slipped her hand between their bodies and pressed it against his chest; relieved, she could feel everything seemed to be normal. Another thought crossed her mind, a thought about a spell. She had read about it in a book but had never dared to do it. But now that she had seen his heart and put it back, she was feeling more confident.

“Can I try something on you?”

“Sure!” He replied instantly. “What is it?”

“A protection,” she said while sitting up.

He raised a curious eyebrow and waited to see what she was up to. It was only when she was holding her hand over his heart that she hesitated. But she remembered reading about it, and her magic hadn’t been complicated to use, lately; she could do it. Her hand flared and she felt his hold tighten on her hip.

“Oh, my love, if you knew the effect your magic has on me. This warmth spreading through my body… What have you done exactly?”

“Made sure your heart will never leave your chest again. It should be safe now… if it worked.”

“I’m sure it did. You’re amazing. As always.”

He sat up and softly captured her lips, before lying down again, pulling her down with him.

“How do you feel?” Emma asked, placing her hand back over his heart.

“Like I’m the luckiest man alive.”

“Killian…” She giggled, lightly shaking her head. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Me and my heart are all right,” he replied more seriously.

“Then, tomorrow I’ll protect Henry’s heart as well.” Mentioning the boy reminded her of something and tickled her curiosity. “How did you and Henry come to talk about you considering him as your son?”

“Ha,” he looked down to take her hand, and Emma felt like he wasn’t totally comfortable with this. “I wasn’t expecting this conversation with him to happen. Especially not at this moment, when we were looking for you. But he started to feel guilty and said it wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t left Regina to come and find you in the first place. I wanted to reassure him and the words escaped me.”

“Didn’t you mean them? The words you said?” Emma asked, trying to understand what seemed to be annoying him.

“Yes, I did,” Killian answered, sounding surprised by her question. “Am I treating, caring about, and loving the son of the woman I love as if he was my own son? Of course I do.”

“But you seem to be bothered by something,” she pointed out, tenderly looking into his eyes. “What is it?”

Killian glanced down at their fingers before looking up at her. “How do _you_ feel about it?”

It was her turn to be surprised, and she searched his eyes, trying to find a reason to this question. “Are you truly thinking I wouldn’t gladly accept you as the father of my child?”

“I’m not his father.”

“Killian…” Emma sat up on his thighs and made him sit as well. She looked into his eyes, wondering where to start. “When I was in the foster system, I was seeing all these children being adopted, being chosen instead of me. Every time a child was being adopted, we were all gathering together to watch them leave, and I was wondering whether someone would ever want me. And a few times, a family did come for me. But each of these families ended up abandoning me. And so did the man I was with, all those years ago; he abandoned me, and Henry. To me, a father doesn’t have to be the natural father. All a kid wants is to be loved, no matter what. As a kid, I would have given everything to have someone accepting me for who I was, treating me like their own child, and loving me like you do with Henry. What I mean is that, if the man I love can be and want to be, to my son, the father I’ve never had the chance to have… I have all the reasons to approve.”

As every time she was referring to her childhood, Emma felt she was close to tears. Killian could also feel it, and tenderly wrapped her in his arms. But she managed to fight the tears back.

“You’ve acted like his father since day one,” she said, remaining in his embrace. “You’ve even been the one showing me how to be a parent. You have it in you.”

“That’s difficult to believe, considering the paternal example I had.”

“Henry loves you. I’ll never forget how one of the first things he’s done when he came on board was to ask whether you were his dad, and how disappointed he looked when you told him you weren’t.”

“I remember. He seemed to be hoping I was his dad, and this made me even more willing to treat him as if he was my own son.”

“I love you,” she kissed him and leant against him, enough to make him lie on his back.

“Are you still unwilling to sleep?”

“Actually, now that your heart is safely back where it belongs,” she said, her hand again slipping down his neck to rest on his chest. “Sleeping seems to be the thing to do.”

“I love you.”

She softly kissed him again before settling in his embrace. More exhausted than she had wanted to admit, she fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

She didn’t know whether it was because of the sound of the rain against the porthole, or because of the warmth she was feeling in her hands, but Emma woke up a couple hours later. Her hands were flaring again, and memories of the past night flooded her mind. She could feel she hadn’t slept enough, but she also didn’t want to fall back asleep. There was something she wanted to do. She moved as slowly as she could, but as soon as she got up, Killian woke up.

“Emma?”

“I’m fine,” she reassured. “It’s just my magic. It’s out of control again.”

“Where are you going?” he asked, sitting up.

“Don’t worry, I just want to go on deck.”

Still sleepy, Killian frowned and glanced at the porthole. “But it’s pouring rain.”

“There’s something I need to do. I want to cast a new protection spell over the ship. He might try to undo the one he cast.”

“Love, he’s not supposed to be able to do that,” he said, getting up and taking her hand. “Undoing the protection spell would put us in danger. If the dagger worked on him…”

“It surely worked, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try. And if there’s another protection spell protecting the ship, he’ll be able to do it and we won’t depend on him at all, anymore.”

“You need to rest.”

“I’ll be reassured to know I’m the only one in control of the protection. And we could call Liam and Ariel before I cast it, so they can find the ship wherever we go.”

Killian considered the idea before nodding, “I’m coming with you.”

They actually didn’t need to call Liam and Ariel: as they walked past Liam’s cabin, Emma came to a halt. She had heard Liam’s voice, and now Henry was talking.

“They’re back,” Emma pointed out.

Ariel and Liam had left a couple days earlier. They had missed everything that had happened the day before; how Emma had lost control of her magic and had hurt Killian, leading her to try and get rid of her magic in the night.

Killian knocked and Henry ran to open the door to them.

“Emma! How are you? Did you succeed in putting Killian’s heart back?” asked Liam, sitting on the bed next to Ariel who flashed them a bright smile. “Henry told us what happened.”

“I’m fine. And Killian’s heart is back where it belongs,” she reassured with a smile, crossing her arms to hide the flares. She turned to her son. “It’s still early, we came back very late in the night. You should still be sleeping.”

“I know, but I woke up and heard they were here,” Henry justified himself, before he smirked. “And you should still be sleeping too.”

“Nice try, kid. But we’re adults, you need more sleep than us.”

“How was the underwater kingdom, brother?”

“The greatest place I’ve ever been. I’ve always thought my favorite place to be was on the surface, but I actually like it even more down there.”

“And he’s making a very good merman. I didn’t know men of the land could swim so well,” Ariel added, and Emma smiled as she saw Liam’s hand reaching for hers with a tenderness reminding her of Killian.

“I’ll tell you everything about the underwater kingdom, if you want to,” said Liam.

“I want all the details!” Henry said enthusiastically. “Can you tell us now?”

“Actually,” interrupted Emma, “I’d love to hear the story, but there’s something I need to do, now.”

“What is it?” asked Henry.

“I’m going to cast a protection spell. Ariel, Liam, that’s a very good thing you came back. Ariel, you can’t see the ship because of the protection spell cast by the Dark One. But I feel like he’s going to undo it. I’m going to cast another one, while both of you are here.”

“So I’ll be able to see the ship?” Ariel asked.

“As soon as the Dark One undoes his spell, yes.”

“Thank you!” The mermaid flashed her another bright smile.

“Do we need to be with you while you cast it?” Liam inquired.

Emma shook her head. “You can stay here.”

“Unless you want to enjoy the pouring rain,” Killian added with a smirk.

“I’m coming!” said Henry. “I want to see your magic!”

This convinced the mermaid as well, who said she had never seen this kind of magic; finally, the five of them went up on deck. It was raining so much that they got drenched in just a few seconds. Liam, Ariel and Henry stood a bit behind while Killian followed Emma to the middle part of the deck.

“Are you sure you want to do it now? You’ve done a lot of magic already, since yesterday.”

“I’ll be fine,” reassured Emma. “It’s just one spell.”

She closed her eyes while Killian was standing by her side, not taking his eyes off of her. She thought about the ship; their home, the place she needed to protect. She had never cast a spell to protect such a large area, but she knew she could do it. Feeling the magic in her hands, she focused on what she wanted to do. Killian watched the spark coming out of her hands and going up into the sky, reaching the top of the mast. A silver glimmer, barely visible, then spread over the ship and went down, delimiting an aura all around them, before disappearing right behind the railings.

“Well done, love,” said Killian, admiring her magic. But his smile faded when he saw her. “Emma?”

Emma had kept her eyes closed and was clenching her fists. She had underestimated the energy required to cast such a spell and was feeling weak. She could feel her magic was more powerful than her, and it felt like she was getting lost.

“Emma,” Killian repeated, closing the distance between them, his hand reaching for her shoulder.

When feeling his touch, she knew what she needed. Turning around, she tossed her arms around his neck and let herself fall in his embrace, her lips crashing against his. They had company and rain was trickling down her face, making her clothes stick to her skin, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was to kiss his lips. She delightedly noticed how passionately he replied. Leaning against him, she let herself get lost in the kiss, until she felt like she needed some air. She unwrapped her arms from around his neck and grabbed his collar with both hands instead, while keeping her eyes closed and discreetly passing her tongue over her bottom lip.

“That was… intense,” Killian said breathlessly. His hand still on her shoulder, he moved back a bit to look at her. “I’m not complaining, but what was this kiss for?”

“I felt like I was about to lose control of my magic. It feels like it’s getting me lost. If I have to be lost, I’d rather lose myself in you.”

Tightly holding onto his collar, she closed her eyes again, feeling dizzy.

“Emma, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she said. But the truth was that her head was spinning. “I feel a little woozy. I think I’ll lie down for a bit.”

“You haven’t slept long enough. Let me take you back to our quarters.”

Without waiting, he scooped her up.

“Is she alright?” asked Liam as he walked past them.

“She’s exhausted because of her magic, but she’ll be fine,” reassured Killian. “I’ll be with her in the quarters.”

Putting her back on her feet while they were back in their quarters, he helped her remove her soaked clothes and led her to the bed.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, joining her on the bed after getting rid of his own clothes.

“Better,” she reassured with a smile.

“I’ve told you it would be too much.”

She knew he was not blaming her and there was nothing negative in his words, but just to show him she was fine, she sat up. “Am I getting the ‘I told you so’ speech?”

“Perhaps,” Killian smirked.

He didn’t say anything else and focused on her hair instead, running his fingers through the damp curls and trying to untangle them. Emma lightly tilted her head on the side and made a face as he unintentionally pulled on her hair, and he stood still. A thought crossed her mind and made her smile.

“If doing my hair is really what you want, I think I’ve left my hairbrush on the shelf,” she said, indicating it. “It’ll be easier.”

“You’ve never let me do that before.” Unable to hide his delight, he got up and went to fetch the object.

“And now I’m giving you an occasion to take care of your princess, since you seem to enjoy it. Come here.”

She indicated him to sit on the bed against the wall, and sat between his legs, leaning back against his chest. One hand on his hooked arm which was wrapped around her, the other one on his thigh, she closed her eyes while he softly untangled her hair, and felt like she could fall asleep anytime. Soon, he put the brush aside and went back to using his fingers.

“It’s actually better to feel it directly under my fingers,” he said, running them through her hair.

Emma then felt his fingertips graze over her back, her shoulder, and across her chest. She grabbed his fingers and pressed his hand over her heart, while leaning back against him even more.

“Thank you,” she sighed.

“What are you thanking me for, love?”

“Everything. Look.” Still holding his hand over her heart, she showed him her other hand. “I’m in control. Thanks to you. I was about to lose control, and I haven’t, because you were here.” She turned to look at him and saw he was gazing at her with an amused smile. “What?”

“Isn’t that what I’ve been telling you for weeks? That our love is the solution? And you’re only believing me now.”

“I…” Not knowing what to say, the fact he pressed his lips on her neck didn’t help, and she needed a few seconds before being able to speak. “I didn’t realize it could help that much. At the beginning, our love was helping me to use my magic. Then, it was helping me when I was losing control, like a distraction to help me get it back in control. You calm me down. But today, it felt different. It felt like I was about to lose control; not just the flares, but more like when I’ve burnt a book and almost turned the quarters upside down. Like, really lose control. But it didn’t happen, because you were there.”

“So today was different, because usually I helped when you had already lost control, but today I helped before that happened?”

“Yes. I don’t know how to explain. Our love is just even more powerful than I thought it was. If I feel like I’m about to lose control, I just have to kiss you, and everything’ll go back to normal before I have time to hurt anyone.”

“And a hell of a kiss that was!”

“I’m afraid you’ll be required to stay by my side all the time,” she teased.

“As if I was interested in being anywhere else.”

Smirking, he leant against her and made her lay on her back. A giggle escaped her and she captured his lips for a soft kiss, before lovingly gazing into his eyes, her hand on his cheek.

“We can go wherever we want, now,” she whispered. “It’s just us; you and I, Henry, Liam and Ariel. We can leave and never come back.”

“Freedom at last. Our future begins. But we’ll see about that after you’ve slept.”


	16. Emma's Birthday

The Jolly Roger was sailing away from the Enchanted Forest. After the eventful previous night, Henry had spent the afternoon resting in his cabin. He was reading a book when Emma went to see him.

“Do you mind if I interrupt your reading?” asked Emma.

“Not at all!” Henry said with a bright smile, getting ready to get up. “Does Killian need me on deck?”

“No, it’s not that. There’s something I wanted to do.” Emma went to sit on the edge of his bed. “Do you trust me to use my magic on you?”

“On me?”

“Yes. I’ve tried on Killian already.”

“I trust you. What is it?”

“It won’t take more than a few seconds. Don’t move.”

Emma held her hand over his chest and focused on controlling the flares. Henry made a face.

“It stings. What are you doing?”

“Killian didn’t seem to find it unpleasant,” Emma commented, surprised. “With this spell, your heart will safely remain where it should be.” With a tender smile, she indicated his chest. “Right in here.”

“I’m glad you kept your magic.”

“So am I. And it’s thanks to you and Killian. You’ve truly been a hero last night. I hope you know that you and Killian are the best things that have ever happened to me.”

Henry beamed and hugged her. “You and Killian are the best.”

Speaking of him, there was a knock on the door. “Yes?”

Killian entered the cabin and his features brightened as he witnessed the hug.

“Is everything alright?” Emma asked.

“Aye. Just came to say that you were right about the crocodile. He did remove his protection spell. Ariel went for a swim, she can now see the ship. It seems like you’re now the one in control of the protection of the Jolly Roger.” A crooked smile tugged at his lips. “I’ll be in the quarters.”

* * *

Killian was studying a map when Emma joined him in the quarters.

“Good you’re here! I’m trying to choose where to go next,” he said as she closed the door. “How’s your magic?”

“Under control… for now. But maybe not for long. While talking with Henry, I felt my hands become warm. I preferred to come and be with you, in case it worsens.”

“Come here,” he invited, opening his arms to her. Taking her hand, he pulled her back against him and pressed his lips on her cheek, crossing his arms on her stomach.

“So… do you have an idea about where to go next?” Emma asked, looking at the map while leaning against him.

“I was thinking of a place close to an island, a place where we could drop anchor. Being close to a land would make it convenient for provisions. All we need is to pick an island.”

“Hmm…” Remaining in his embrace, Emma studied the map, looking at the different islands. On the map, all of them looked alike, each of them being nothing more than a piece of land in the ocean. “How about this one?”

She indicated the island she had randomly picked; an island rather large even if it wasn’t the largest one, and rather far from the Enchanted Forest even if it wasn’t the furthest.

“This one it’ll be,” Killian approved, reaching for his quill before circling the island Emma had picked.

* * *

Weeks went by. The island close to which they had dropped anchor seemed to be secluded from the rest of the realm. They had sailed all around, and the only docks they had found consisted in a single abandoned pontoon. Those who lived on the island seemed to have everything they needed to live; no one was venturing on the sea, which was reducing the risks someone might find the Jolly Roger. The island was larger than Emma had imagined, and they could see, from the ship, a castle at the top of a hill, dominating a village, and fields large enough to probably feed the entire population. Forest was covering the rest of the island.

Day after day, Emma was getting more control over her magic: like Killian had foreseen, the harmful effects of the potion which had made her lose control had worn off with time. She still sometimes felt like her magic was getting out of control, and she was then finding herself running to Killian to kiss him. But as days went by, this happened less and less.

Enjoying the sun on deck, Emma was playing cards with Henry. Killian coming out of the quarters distracted her from the game and she smiled at the boy.

“Hold on a minute,” she told him. “And close your eyes.”

She didn’t lose any time before getting up and running to Killian. Throwing herself into his arms, she passionately kissed him.

“Is your magic going wild?” he asked breathlessly.

“Do I need the excuse of my magic going wild to kiss the man I love?”

A crooked smile tugged at his lips. “Nope. I’ll gladly have one of those kisses whenever you feel like it.”

“Good,” she replied, cupping his jaw and drowning into his eyes.

“I take it your magic is all right?”

“Yes. It’s my love for you which is getting out of control. I’ve seen you coming out from below deck and I simply couldn’t resist. You know what I mean?”

“Aye, I totally do.” He knew how she was feeling and, in his turn, got lost into her eyes before kissing her.

“It’s been a minute!” called Henry. “How long do I need to keep my eyes closed?”

Emma giggled and looked up at Killian. “We’re playing cards, do you want to join?”

Killian nodded and Henry beamed as he saw him coming. He sat down beside the boy and cast a glance at his cards.

“Mum is the one who needs help, because I’m winning. Again,” Henry added, defiantly looking at his mother.

“Indeed I’m losing again,” sighed Emma, examining her cards. “Fourth time in a row. You’ve taught him too well.”

“That’s my boy! Well done, lad,” Killian playfully ruffled the boy’s hair, and smirked as he looked up at Emma. “Sorry, love, I’m staying on the winner’s side.”

“Totally unfair.” Pretending to still be examining her cards, Emma repressed a laugh, actually loving to see her son and Killian bonding.

* * *

“I think it’s time for us to leave again,” said Liam.

“Already missing your tail, brother?”

Liam had been spending most of his time with Ariel, and was usually leaving for several days in a row before coming back on deck for a day or two. Killian, Emma and Henry had guessed Liam and Ariel were together, but they were so discreet that none of them dared to ask anything about it.

Killian had been teasing his brother when asking whether he was missing his tail, but Liam was looking at him seriously. “May I have a word with you?”

“Of course,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

Intrigued, Killian followed his brother to the opposite side of the deck.

“I’ve always been with you, and lately I’ve spent so much time with Ariel… I wanted to make sure it’s all right for you,” said Liam, intensely gazing at his brother and obviously meaning his words.

“Liam… Do I need to remind you of everything you did for me and Emma? How you helped me find her when Regina took her away from me? How you’ve always had my back and supported me all this time? Or how, before she decided she wanted to stay here, you were ready to let me leave to another realm to be with Emma?”

“I do remember. But you’re my little brother and you will always be. I needed to be sure, because I may come back less and less often. It’s amazing down there, and there are so many places to explore. Some of them are quite far away, I may not come back for weeks.”

Having the impression Liam was feeling like he had to choose between him and Ariel, Killian lightly shook his head and smiled. “Do you love her?”

Staring at Killian all this time, Liam finally tore his gaze away and looked at Ariel, who was chatting with Henry and Emma.

“Yes,” he admitted.

“Then, you must follow your heart,” assured Killian. “Even when you’re down there, we have these seashells in case one of us needs the other.”

Every hint of worry vanished from Liam’s features and he gave Killian a bright smile. “I knew I could count on you.”

“Just don’t let love make you forget you have a brother. It’d be a shame if you forgot what it’s like to walk on legs,” Killian chuckled and patted his shoulder. “Come and visit us sometime.”

“I will,” affirmed Liam.

* * *

Emma had never enjoyed life more than during these months they spent on board. Like he had warned his brother, Liam came back with Ariel only once every few weeks, each time coming back with tales of their adventures to tell. The rest of the time, Emma was spending it with her two men. Her favorite activities included playing games at day and stargazing at night, after spending the evening listening to Killian tell stories that the kid seemed to never get tired of. She was feeling like they were free; they were only the three of them, enjoying every moment of the summer. She had used her magic to make the ship even more comfortable: instead of sitting on the floor when talking or playing cards while enjoying the sun, they could now settle in the two couches she had installed there. The table had also been moved to the deck. Her magic was something she didn’t need to worry about anymore; it was rarely getting out of control and, when it happened, kissing Killian was enough to get it back under control. Her delight was shared by Henry and Killian. She had yet to hear the boy call the man she loved, ‘Dad’, but the two of them were acting like father and son. As always, Henry was nothing but cheerful. When he was giving her and Killian some time alone, he didn’t have difficulty in keeping busy; besides reading, he also loved drawing and writing: following Killian’s example, he was keeping his own logbook, detailing in it each of his days.

“The lad is sleeping already?” asked Killian when he saw Emma come back from below deck without the boy.

“He went back to writing, or drawing, I don’t know. For weeks he’s refused to show me what he’s been doing. He wants it to be finished before I see it.” As Killian said nothing, she tilted her head, examining him. “ _You_ know something about it.”

“No,” Killian denied, shaking his head.

His inability to lie amused her. “I know when you’re lying to me. What’s Henry up to?”

“I may not be able to lie to you, but I can distract you.”

Killian playfully smirked and captured her in his embrace, turning her in his arms so that her back was against his chest.

“No! Not this! Killian!” Emma squirmed as she felt him tickle her side. “Killian! Not fair!”

Laughing, she struggled, trying to free herself. But his embrace seemed to be unbreakable, and he kept tickling her. She managed to sit down on the floor and rolled herself into a ball. But this didn’t stop him: he got down on his knees and his fingers didn’t leave her waist.

“Killian! Stop!” Emma said, her laughter making it even harder for her to breathe.

“You’re lucky I only have one hand. Imagine if I had two,” he chuckled.

“Please stop,” she begged, still squirming and laughing.

Finally, he stopped torturing her and, still sitting on the floor, she melted in his embrace as he kissed her neck.

“What’s Henry up to?” she asked, still breathless.

His silence made her think that he had expected her to forget about it; or that he was the one forgetting about it.

“I’m not saying,” he said, his breath fluttering against her skin making her shiver.

He softly pecked her cheek before getting up and holding out his hand to her. But she didn’t take it and stubbornly kept her arms crossed.

“I want to know.”

“You will know soon. For now… son and father may have secrets.”

He knew that, worded like this, he was giving her no choice: he knew she loved seeing him spend some time with Henry; she wouldn’t go against their complicity. And he was right: Emma melted at his words and gazed up at him with eyes full of love. She resigned herself to take his hand. As she had expected, he pulled her to him rather vigorously, which gave her enough impetus to jump in his arms: fully trusting him to hold her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Lightly thrown off balance, Killian chuckled and she giggled, before indicating the couch. A moment later, she found herself lying on her back, admiring the view of Killian on a starry background.

“You’re missing an amazing view, you know?” she asked. “The night’s clear, it’s beautiful.”

“It’s even better to gaze at the stars by looking at their reflection in your eyes.”

Once again melting because of his words, she tried hard to keep her composure. “I really doubt you can see them as well as I do.”

“Perhaps I’m not so interested in the stars,” he admitted with a crooked smile. “Have I ever told you how difficult it is to focus on anything when you’re around?”

Pretending to feel guilty, she playfully hid under the collar of his coat and he laughed, uncovering her face.

“No need to hide. Nothing else is worth my attention anyway,” he said, caressing her neck.

Something moving in her field of vision caught her eye.

“A shooting star,” she said, memories coming back to her. She focused on him again. “I remember the first shooting star I’ve ever seen: I was with you.”

“During the first time when we stargazed, on the first night you spent on board, two days after we met,” Killian completed her sentence.

“You remember,” she observed.

“Of course I do. You had spent the day locked in the quarters, and you were examining this sky map when Liam and I came back.”

“You offered me to enjoy the fresh air of the night.”

“And I’ve showed you the Swan constellation,” Killian completed, reliving the memory.

“And then I’ve seen it,” she added, reconstituting the scene with him, as their thoughts about this moment seemed to be synchronized.

“Your first shooting star. You asked me what it was.”

“And you told me it was a little rock burning up and shining as it goes through the protective walls of our world. Ephemeral, being part of our life for only a very limited time, and yet so fascinating,” she quoted.

“You even remember my exact words,” said Killian, amazed.

Feeling his intense stare, her cheeks heat up and she bit her lip. “I only remember them because… Do you remember how I fell asleep in your arms for the first time and you led me back to my cabin?”

“As if I could forget this,” Killian replied with a smile.

“After that, I couldn’t find sleep so easily. I asked myself many questions and kept reliving that moment. It was like your words were echoing in my mind because… it felt like you were not talking only about the shooting star. You were talking about me, weren’t you?”

“Aye. I already had eyes only for you. Since the very moment when you ran into me.”

“And you had already cracked my walls. I’ve tried to fight it, but somehow I knew this thing between you and I was too great for me to fight.”

“And what I didn’t know was that you would decide to stay. I did think you were as ephemeral as a shooting star.”

“And here I am, still here with you, with no intention of going anywhere else.”

Drowning in her eyes, his hand slipped in her neck and he tenderly kissed her.

“You’ve turned my life into a living dream.”

“Better than this; even my wildest dreams couldn’t have started to describe how good it feels to be loved by you,” she corrected before capturing his lips again, her hands slipping down his neck and making his coat slide down his shoulders.

* * *

“Mum! Killian and I need to go to the village.”

On this clement day of autumn, Emma was sitting on one of the couches on deck, reading a book. She looked up at Henry, who looked even more cheerful than usual.

“Are we out of provisions already?” she asked.

Since anyone they were meeting could happen to be an ally of the Evil Queen, they were not taking the risk to venture on the island when they didn’t need it.

“No, it’s not that,” replied Henry. “But you can’t come with us.”

“What? Why?”

“Uh,” the boy hesitated.

“Father and son’s business!” Killian winked at Henry, coming to his rescue, before looking at Emma. “It shouldn’t be too long.”

“And I can’t even know what it’s about?”

“Not now,” Killian smiled and pressed a tender kiss on her cheek as he walked past her.

Emma sighed and gave in. “Be careful.”

“You know me. We’ll be safe.” Killian stood in front of her, obviously waiting for something, but since she didn’t seem to grasp, he asked, “Can you just disguise us?”

“Oh, yes, of course,” she said, being pulled out of her thoughts.

She used her magic to change their appearances; on the first time when they had needed to visit the village, they had discussed the risks and Henry had suggested her to try the glamour spell. She had first tried it on herself, and had quickly learnt how to master it. Every time they left the ship, Henry had the appearance of a tall and thin ginger-haired boy with freckles, while Killian and she looked like the couple whose names she had used at the ball, Robert and Giselle.

“I still can’t know what it’s about?” asked Emma.

“Not yet,” Killian replied with a smile before kissing her lips. “You don’t need to worry.”

She tried to listen to him but failed at focusing back on reading; she knew Killian could assure his own protection and Henry’s, but she was too much curious about what they were doing. She waited for what felt like a long time and, at last, she heard the voices of the ones she loved.

“Did you miss us?” teased Killian as they walked on board.

She barely had time to remove the glamour spell before he closed the distance and kissed her, while Henry rushed below deck. Emma suspected he was about to empty his expandable bag; a bag on which she had cast an expansion charm to make it larger than it actually looked.

“Will you tell me what’s inside Henry’s bag?” she asked, her arms wrapped around his neck.

“You truly have no idea what this is all about?” he asked with a crooked smile.

She gazed into his eyes, trying to find in them any hint. Her curiosity had been tickled, and she still didn’t have any hint. “Tell me.”

“The lad wouldn’t want me to tell you when he’s not here. How about, for now, we leave the shore?”

Emma approved and, a few moments later, they were dropping anchor at their usual spot. It was then that Henry came back, his eyes locked on Killian and a bright smile on his lips.

“Alright, you two,” said Emma. “How much longer will you let me wonder about what you’re both up to?”

She noticed the silent exchange between her two men: gazing at each other, Henry looked like he was asking him a question, and Killian nodded.

The boy then turned to her with one of the brightest smiles, and shouted, “Happy birthday!”

She had barely got the time to understand when he ran into her for a hug. She naturally wrapped him in her arms while his words sank in and, not having expected this at all, she looked up at Killian, gaping. He nodded and went to hug the both of them, before pecking her lips.

“Happy birthday, love.”

“But how… How do you even know?”

If Emma was so startled, it was because she had lost the count of days a very long time ago. She felt Killian’s fingers brush her chin and she looked him in the eye.

“You arrived in this realm on your birthday,” reminded Killian. “Am I really supposed not to remember I’ve met you exactly a year ago?”

His words made her bite her bottom lip; the man she loved had entered her life a year earlier and the fact she hadn’t been aware about it made her feel guilty. “I didn’t realize.”

But Killian seemed to catch her feeling of guilt. “My love, keeping track of time is part of captains’ duties. But I understand very well that, on the contrary, love can make you lose track of it. And I will never be able to express how delighted I am to be the one responsible of this. It’s alright you didn’t realize.”

“It’s actually even better!” said Henry cheerfully, looking up at them, his arms still wrapped around her waist. “Because you didn’t guess what we were up to!”

“So this is what it was all for,” summarized Emma. “You and Killian not wanting me to come with you to the village, you wanted… what have you done there, exactly?”

Henry beamed. “Prepared dinner for tonight!”

Emma was thinking of the start of the day to help the fact it was her birthday to sink in. “That’s why you’ve been so excited this morning.”

“Aye!” Henry beamed. “And you should be excited too! It’s your birthday!”

It then hit her that, after twenty-nine years, it was the first time she was surrounded with loved ones to celebrate her birthday; nothing about her previous twenty-eight birthdays had been worth getting excited about.

“I’m not sure I know what I’m supposed to do,” she admitted.

“You don’t have to worry,” said Killian.

“Because we have planned it all!” Henry completed. “But of course, plans can be changed. They are just ideas. You’re the one to decide. With Killian we thought we could spend the afternoon playing games. Those afternoons are the best! What do you say?”

“I love you. Both of you.” At last, the idea it was her birthday had sunk in, and she looked happy again. “I’d love to play games.”

Playing dice and cards was what they did, and hours went by very fast.

“Since it’s my birthday, am I not supposed to win?” she asked, looking at her cards; she hadn’t won a single game and felt like she was about to lose again.

“Obviously not. Sorry, love,” Killian chuckled.

“So none of you is enough of a gentleman to let me win at least a few games?” She repressed a laugh, playfully pretending to be astounded. Henry laughed.

“Letting you win would be cheating. The rules are the rules and…” The boy trailed off and placed his last card on the table before raising his arms as a sign of victory, “I win again! What game can we play now?”

Picking another game, they kept playing until sunset.

“Finally!” said Emma as she won her first game of the day.

“Noooo, I was about to win!” Henry complained.

“That’s too late for that, kid!” she playfully teased.

“But you’re the one who won most of the games,” Killian observed, ruffling his hair. “Lad, if there’s a time to be a gentleman, it’s now: how about we let your mum finish the afternoon on a victory?”

“Yes,” the boy agreed, before he smirked while looking up at Emma. “But that’s only because it’s your birthday!” A bright smile replaced his smirk and he turned to Killian. “Does that mean it’s time for dinner?”

“Are you hungry?” Killian asked Emma. Since she nodded, he turned again to Henry. “It is time for dinner indeed.”

“Yay!” Henry cheered. “Alright, you both stay here. Don’t get up from the table. I’m taking care of everything.”

He obviously didn’t intend to discuss this, as he didn’t wait before leaving them at the table. Emma’s eyes were locked on the spot where he had disappeared below deck, and she was wondering whether she should go and help him.

“He insisted,” said Killian as if he had read her thoughts, reaching across the table for her hand. “He told me several times he wanted to do everything by himself, because it’s your birthday so you shouldn’t be doing anything, and someone, I, had to stay with you. My apologies for having to leave you this morning, by the way. The boy and I happened not to have a choice.”

Henry brought candles before he left again. He came back a moment later to set the table, his smile being at his brightest.

“Tonight I’m playing the role of the waiter. This way it’s kind of like you’re on a date. Except I’m here as well, so no kissing while we eat.” Henry looked at their intertwined fingers before glancing under the table and seeing how they had captured each other’s foot between their ankles. “Alright, you can keep your feet like this if you want to.”

“How kind!” Killian chuckled.

“You have potential to become captain,” Emma said.

Henry beamed. “Good! Because I want to be just like Killian!”

“You can be even better than that.” Killian winked, and the boy shook his head.

“I don’t think that’s possible. Stay here, I’m bringing the food,” Henry said before leaving again.

Emma gave in to curiosity. “What’s for dinner?”

“Do you remember what we had for the first dinner we shared at the tavern, exactly a year ago, on the day when we met?”

“Wasn’t it some pie?”

“Indeed. A meat, mushroom and vegetable pie, more exactly.”

Emma bit her lip to repress a smile as she tried to remember. “I think I’ve been too much distracted by the man in front of me to pay any attention to the fillings.” She then realized. “Wait, are you saying that’s on the menu for tonight?”

Killian didn’t need to say anything to confirm her guess as Henry came back with a pie.

“Us, in the evening of your birthday, eating a meat, mushroom and vegetable pie by candlelight; much like last year, when it all started,” said Killian.

“Except I wasn’t here last year,” the boy corrected. “But this pie does look delicious!”

“It does! And the fact it reflects the first evening we spent together…” Caressing the back of Killian’s hand, Emma trailed off as she almost drowned into his eyes.

Once again insisting to be the one in charge, Henry cut the pie and served everyone.

“Mum! How much are you enjoying the day?”

“A lot. I can’t tell how lucky I feel for having you both.”

“And it’s not over! We still have something to give you. But you’ll see by yourself,” Henry teased.

Once the plates were empty, Henry left again. When he came back with the cake, he found Emma and Killian leaning over the table and kissing.

“I’m back!” Henry warned before laughing. “I knew you wouldn’t resist each other.”

Amused, they both leant back into their chairs as Henry placed the cake topped with a candle in front of Emma.

“Chocolate! Nice choice,” Emma grinned.

“You once told me chocolate was your guilty pleasure,” Killian reminded her with a crooked smile.

“Go on, blow the candle out!” said Henry.

He cheered when she did and, once again, was the one serving everyone. It was once the plates were cleaned that Henry got up and whispered something in Killian’s ear. The man nodded and the boy beamed before disappearing below deck. He reappeared just a few seconds later and handed Emma something wrapped in parchment paper.

“Here’s your present. It’s from both Killian and I.”

“But mostly from the lad. He’s the one who spent the most time on it.”

“I hope you like it!”

“What is it?” Emma asked, glancing at her two men.

“Unwrap it!” Henry said with excitement while Killian nodded with a smile.

Considering the shape and the weight of the package, Emma guessed it was a book. Unwilling to say how that was the first present she had ever unwrapped, she bit her lip, and carefully started to unwrap it. It indeed looked like a book: the back cover was revealed; a leather black cover reminding her of Killian’s logbooks. Having difficulty not to hop up and down with impatience, Henry went to stand behind Killian’s chair, wrapped his arms around the man and placed his chin over his shoulder, watching his mother. Finishing to unwrap it, she looked at the front cover.

“What…” Emma was staring at the cover, and more precisely at the words carved in it; ‘Operation True Love’.

“Look inside!” said Henry excitedly.

Emma complied, and gaped as she looked through the pages: this was indeed one of Killian’s logbooks, but she had no doubt about the fact everything had been written by Henry. There were also a few drawings representing her and Killian; drawings of a quality that mesmerized her.

“You’re in a book, now,” said Henry. “You and Killian have your own story, and this one will reflect reality, because I’ve only written the truth.”

“That’s what you’ve been doing all this time, this thing you didn’t want me to see until it was finished.” Her fingers trailing over one of the pages, Emma finally tore her gaze away from a drawing of her and Killian astride a horse, to look up at her two men. “You did all of this.”

“The drawings are from Killian.”

“His drawings look amazing, but he wanted me to contribute,” Killian added.

“Since when do you know how to draw?” Emma asked, until then never having seen him draw.

“Well, I may have some secret skills,” he smirked.

“But Henry… You’ve written all of this.” She looked through the first pages, and read about a man coming out of his cabin and suddenly finding himself face to face with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen; the story of how she and Killian had met. “You weren’t even there when that happened.”

“But Killian has told the stories. Several times,” reminded Henry, still standing right behind the man. “I just needed to write them all down. And Killian has written…” Henry looked at him inquiringly. “Can we tell her?”

Killian nodded before completing the boy’s sentence. “I’ve just written a few words on the last page.”

Emma went to the last page and read silently, written by Killian, ‘This book may end here, but all of this is hopefully the start of an adventure of a lifetime.’ Already feeling the tears being close, one of them escaped and rolled down her cheek.

“Do you like it?” asked Henry.

“Come here,” said Emma. Killian indicated him to go to her, and Emma pulled her son into a hug. “Even if I had received presents on each of my birthdays, this one would be, by far, the best of them all.”

Henry beamed. “Killian said you would love it.”

“But he was the one who thought of writing this book, and who wrote all of it,” said Killian. “He had just started when he showed it to me.”

“Yes. I had started writing parts of it. I wanted it to be a surprise for you, so I asked Killian if you’d like it. And he said your birthday was coming, so I’ve waited. I’ve finished it nine days ago but I wanted it to be your birthday present. It was so long to wait!”

“It is amazing. _You_ are amazing. Thank you,” Emma told her son while tightening her embrace.

She was then hugging the boy so tightly that he laughed. “Mum, I can’t breathe.”

“Sorry,” she giggled and loosened her embrace.

“That’s all right,” he laughed and hugged her again. “I’m glad you love your present. Now I’m going back to my cabin, so that you can have some time with Killian.”

Henry kissed her cheek, went back to Killian to hug him, and flashed him a smile before leaving.

“Our son is the most amazing kid,” Emma said while gazing at the book on the table. She then looked up at Killian. “And you’re just as amazing.”

Standing up, she went to sit on his lap and placed her hand in his neck before leaning her forehead against his.

“You didn’t need to do all of this,” she whispered.

“You know, it’s a special day for me as well. Exactly a year ago, I walked out of my cabin and the most amazing woman ran into me. She asked me to bring her home, and I simply didn’t know how to. All I knew was that I didn’t want to let her go. And later, she made me the happiest man of all by deciding to stay.” Caressing her cheek, he almost drowned in her eyes. “You entered my life and changed it for the better exactly a year ago, and I intend to celebrate it.”

“I love you.”

She tenderly kissed him before reaching for the book. Again, she looked through the pages, and stopped on one drawing, which was picturing them sitting on the railing and stargazing.

“I had no idea you could draw so well,” she said, trailing her fingers over the page before looking up at him. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

Amused by her question, Killian smirked. “Yes, there is. For example, I can’t take my eyes off of you. I also can’t stop myself from wrapping you in my arms, and I can’t prevent my heart from going wild whenever your lips touch mine.”

Giggling, she trailed her fingers down his neck and pressed her hand over his heart, before pecking his lips. “It would appear I’m your weakness.”

“There’s no doubt about this.” Killian glanced at the drawing and focused on her again. “Come with me.”

He led her to the railing, to this spot represented on the drawing, where they had spent so much time. Holding her hand while she stepped over the railing and sat down, he then settled by her side, as close to her as possible, with his left arm in her back.

“It’s been a while since the last time we’ve sat there.”

“True.” Emma replied. “But the couches are safer. And more convenient for cuddles.”

She looked at Killian and noticed he was gazing at her with a crooked smile she could hardly resist. Not willing to be the one looking away, she stared at him. But the way he was intensely gazing made her forget to breathe; something she realized only when she needed to take a deep breath.

“What are you doing?” She asked, breathless.

“Nothing. I did say I am unable to take my eyes off of you. It’s just… After a year, I still don’t understand what I’ve done to deserve you. I guess I’ll never get over it. And that’s fine. I do love laying my eyes on you and being amazed every time I realize the flawless woman standing in front of me is the one who loves me.”

He tightened his embrace and pressed his cheek against hers, so that both of them were looking at the horizon; the night was so clear that they could see it, delimiting the black surface of the ocean. Not finding anything to say, Emma simply admired the view, while enjoying the warmth of Killian by her side.

“Have you ever realized how the horizon is something we can never reach?” Killian asked. “Sometimes, this is how I picture our love: I want it to be like an endless ocean, a story of a lifetime, a feeling that lives forever. We’ve been through times when the seas were stormy, but our ship is unsinkable, and the storm always ends up subsiding to give way to the light. This ship can thus sail endlessly, forever.”

Thinking of adding poetry to the list of his skills, Emma focused on his words. “Why are you saying this?”

His hand was in his pocket, his fingers closed on a small box; Killian also had a gift for her. “Because…”

But he trailed off when a light in the sky caught his eye. It looked like a lantern and was obviously coming from the island. Killian looked back at the castle behind them, and saw hundreds of those lights floating in the sky, guided towards them by the breeze.

“Well, the night couldn’t be more beautiful,” he said, watching the first lanterns float above the ship.

“What do you think these lights are for?” Emma asked, holding on to him as she looked up as well.

“Surely some kind of royal celebration.”

“Mum!”

Emma started with surprise as she heard Henry, and decided it was safer to go back on deck. The boy had come back from his cabin and was running to them, looking as excited as he had been all day.

“Have you seen that? Do you realize what that means?” Henry asked.

“Calm down, kid,” Emma said, amused by his enthusiasm. “Killian and I were watching them. All those lights are beautiful.”

“But don’t you know what they are?” Henry asked.

“They’re probably celebrating something at the castle.”

“Something?” Henry repeated. “And it happens to be on your birthday? Don’t you see?”

Killian tucked the small box back inside his pocket, and got back on his feet as well. “Lad, what are you saying?”

“Don’t I see what?” Emma asked.

“Mum!” Henry said impatiently, excitement getting the better of him. “These lights are for you! You are the lost princess!”

“What?”

“The lost princess! It all makes sense!”

“Lad, what are you talking about?” Killian asked, securely wrapping her in his arms.

“The lost princess… You’ve never heard of her?” Realizing they truly didn’t know what he was talking about, Henry did his best to calm down as he explained, “I’ve read about a secluded kingdom where, in memory of the lost princess, the king and the queen send lanterns in the sky every year on her birthday. Killian, we need to take her there! I’m sure it’s them!” Excitement was close to get the better of him again as he looked at Emma. “No one has ever seen Snow-White and Prince Charming since you were taken away from them, but I am sure it is them. They must have hidden from Regina. Don’t you understand? The king and queen are Snow-White and Prince Charming! You are the lost princess!”


	17. The Return of the Lost Princess

“The lost princess?” Killian repeated.

“Yes! Lights are sent in the sky for the lost princess, on her birthday. Killian, mum needs to go to the castle, we need to go there!” Henry insisted. “The queen and the king living there have to be Snow-White and Prince Charming!”

Emma was leaning against Killian, who was standing behind her. She was glad to be wrapped in his arms and enjoy the comfort of his embrace. Just like months earlier when she had considered the idea of meeting her son, the idea of possibly meeting her parents, who she had thought were dead, was scaring her.

“Kid, there could be other princesses,” she said when she had found the strength to speak.

“Princesses who don’t know their parents and born on the same day than you?” Henry asked.

Emma turned to Killian. “Do you think that’s possible?”

“That wouldn’t be the most insane thing I’ve ever seen, I’d say it’s plausible. But there’s only one way to find out, you know what that is. The decision is up to you.”

“Mum, you don’t have to be afraid, I’m sure it’ll be alright. Don’t you want to meet your parents?”

“I do. Let’s go there tomorrow morning,” Emma quickly said before she would doubt her decision.

“Killian?” Henry asked, grabbing his arm.

At first heading towards the quarters, both Killian and Emma stopped and turned to the boy. Henry was gazing at the man, obviously willing to tell him something, in private.

“Love? Can I just have a word with the lad? I’m coming to you in a minute.”

Too busy thinking about her parents and this story about the lost princess, Emma didn’t ask any questions: she nodded, pecked his lips and left to the quarters.

“Did you have time to… give her your present?” asked Henry as soon as Emma had disappeared from view.

“Nope. It’s still there,” Killian said, bringing the small box out of his pocket to show it to him, before tucking it back.

“I’m sorry.” Henry stared at the pocket, before looking up. “Everything could have been perfect, but I’ve interrupted you because of the lights in the sky.”

Shaking his head and placing his hand on his shoulder, Killian looked him in the eye. “Lad, you’re not responsible for this. I’ve actually been the first one to be distracted by those lights. Perhaps tonight was not the right time for this.”

Reassured, the boy smiled again. “When will you ask her?”

“If the queen and king are indeed her parents, it’ll already be a lot for her to take in. I have to give her the time she needs; I will wait for at least a few days, perhaps a few weeks. It all depends on her.”

“But you won’t give up on the idea, right?”

“Never,” said Killian, flashing him a smile. “I _will_ propose to her.”

“Good!” Henry hugged the man.

“Just not now,” Killian added, wrapping the boy in his arms. “Be patient. And not a word to her until then.”

“I promise I won’t say anything.” Henry loosened his embrace and looked up. “Now, go. You said you’d go to her in a minute, and it’s been more than a minute. You’re late.”

“That’s right,” Killian chuckled. “Good night, lad.”

* * *

As she had expected, Emma did doubt her decision to go to the castle on the next day. Lying in bed late at night, wrapped in Killian’s arms with the side of her face pressed against his chest, she was still wide awake, wondering about what the next day was holding for her.

“Not finding sleep, love?” Killian asked, opening his eyes after having dozed off.

“I’m just… not sure I know what I want.”

“We don’t have to go in the morning. We can go later if you want to.”

“I don’t want to wait. Waiting is the worst. But I’m also scared. Scared because I don’t know what to expect. It may not even be them.” Since sharing her fears was relieving, she went on. “When Henry talked to me about them, it changed everything, because everything I had ever believed was wrong: I had been taken away from them, they had not willingly given me up. But when he told me no one had ever heard of them since the day when I was born, I thought she had killed them, and I’ve kept that idea in mind. And now, it’s all changing again, and I’m preparing myself to meet my parents for the first time, but we may arrive there tomorrow and realize they’re not them.”

“Would you like me and Henry to go there and get some information about them?”

“No, I want to come with you.” Letting her thoughts wander, Emma sighed. “I’m also scared that it will change everything. It’s like when Henry entered our lives. I was finally feeling happy, with you, and everything changed.”

“But our life became even better when he became a part of it. Perhaps it’ll be the same with your parents.”

“How could it be even better than it is now, with you and Henry?”

“Did you expect life could become any better before we met our boy?”

Emma shook her head. “No. I had you, this was already much better than anything I could have dreamed of.”

“But it did become better. Because now, you still have me, but you also have Henry. And tomorrow, you could be reunited with your parents and have a complete family. If they’re indeed your parents, it means you’re the one they’ve been searching for years. They will welcome you with open arms. And in case they’re not, we can come back to being just the three of us.”

Once again, Killian had found the words she needed to hear. She smiled and leant her forehead against his.

“Thank you.”

* * *

“You’re alright, love?” Killian asked for the fourth or fifth time in the morning.

“I think I am.”

This time, they were ready to go. Henry was wearing a hooded cloak, but Killian and Emma were undisguised, wearing their usual outfits; they had been to the village already and, if it was usual for children to wear the same kind of hooded cloaks Henry was currently wearing, they had not seen a single adult wearing one of those, and they had agreed on the fact that all of them being hooded would look more suspect and attract more eyes than anything.

“Really, shouldn’t I cast a glamor spell on the three of us?”

“No,” replied both Henry and Killian in unison.

“If it’s your parents living in this castle, everyone on this island must hate the Evil Queen,” added Henry. “We’re safe.”

“But what if it’s not them?” Emma asked. “It could be dangerous.”

“I’m sure it’s them.”

“My love, you’re about to meet your parents for the first time. Don’t you want them to see you as you really are?”

“Point taken,” Emma sighed; he was right, she couldn’t meet them hidden behind someone else’s appearance. “Let’s go.”

Standing on deck, she looked up at the castle and took a deep breath.

“It’ll be all right, love,” Killian said while softly taking her hand.

Emma nodded and held out her other hand to Henry, before leading her two men off the ship.

“That’s insane,” said Emma while they were walking through the village. “Anyone could recognize us and tell her that we’re here. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some ‘Wanted’ posters with our faces on them, plastered on trees.”

“Someone would have recognized us already, if that was the case. No one knows who we are.”

“Let’s hope you’re right,” she said, progressing through the crowded street.

Henry did appear to be right; the few people who caught their eyes greeted them with a smile, while many of them were simply too busy working, doing the shopping, or chatting to even notice them. Soon, they reached a less crowded part of the village, where they had never been. The path, bordered with middlemist flowers, was leading up straight to the castle. Thinking of how she could soon be reunited with parents she had never met, Emma suddenly felt a knot in her stomach and took a deep breath.

“Love, do you want us to wait before going there?”

“No. The sooner, the better.”

The closer to the castle they were, the less frequent it became to meet anyone on their way. Emma was more and more nervous.

“What if they don’t like me?” she asked.

“My love, you don’t have to worry. I love every part of you, and I can assure you there is no reason why they wouldn’t.”

“I agree with Killian,” added Henry. “They’ve been waiting for you for years.”

“And these years gave them time to wonder about what their daughter had become,” Emma worried. “What if their expectations are too high? What if they expect someone amazing and much better than just… me?”

“Lad?” Killian called, leaning forward to catch his eye. “Look away.”

“What? Why?”

But Henry quickly understood: keeping his fingers laced with hers, Killian stepped in front of Emma and captured her lips in a tender kiss.

“You _are_ amazing,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers. “You are amazing, and they will love you for the wonderful woman you are.”

Killian looked her in the eye and, once he was sure she had heard him, brushed the back of her hand with his thumb and started to walk again. Asking herself many questions, Emma was lost in her thoughts; so lost that the two men, sitting around a table by the side of the path and playing chess, took her by surprise when they got up and came to them.

“Who goes there?” One of the men asked.

“Uh, I’m…” She stammered, only then realizing how close to the castle they were.

Henry came to her help. “Her name is Emma. She’s my mum. And if Snow-White and Prince Charming are who you’re working for, she’s also the lost princess.”

At his words, the two men looked at each other with eyebrows raised in surprise, and stepped away. They kept casting glances at Emma while they exchanged a few words, the two of them obviously being in disagreement; they raised their voices, letting Emma, Killian and Henry hear them.

“Maximus, you know what the orders are!”

“But what if they’re lying?”

“The decision is not ours to take; _they_ ’ll be the judges of that. We have to take her to them. Or at least, _I_ have to, because one of us needs to stay here.”

The two men came back, and the one who was not Maximus spoke.

“I’ll take you to the Queen and the King.” he told Emma. He then looked at Henry and Killian. “You, however…”

“They’re with me,” interrupted Emma. “Please let them come with me.”

“Alright, my apologies for this. One last thing before we can go.” He turned to Killian. “That’s a sword you’ve got here. I’ll have to ask you to hand it over before I can lead you to the castle. It’ll be returned to you.”

Killian nodded and complied, handing the sword over to Maximus.

“Am I allowed to keep my hook?”

He asked to make sure everything was alright. The two guards considered the piece of metal for a moment.

“Have you lost your hand?”

“Aye.”

“Have you never heard of Captain Hook?” Henry asked and the men shook their heads.

“You can keep it. Any other weapon?” Maximus asked Emma and the boy, and both also shook their heads.

“Then, let’s go.”

Maximus went back to sit in front of the chess game while the other man silently led them to the castle.

“Mum, look! That must be you!”

They were facing the castle. On both sides, white stone stairs were leading to a balcony. Henry was pointing at the large mosaic on the wall between the two stairs, below the balcony; a mosaic representing a couple and a baby. Emma’s eyes kept traveling over the mosaic, from the blond-haired baby girl in her mother’s arms to the parents she had never met; a woman with long and black hair with, on her shoulders, the hands of a rather handsome light brown-haired man, who was standing right next to her. Both of them seemed to be admiring the smiling baby who was reaching out to them. Nothing but happiness was issuing from this mosaic; moved, Emma looked away and bit her lip. Willing to comfort her, Killian tightened his hold on her hand and she focused on him while they went up the stairs.

“Wait here,” said the guard. “I’ll warn the Queen and the King.”

The man entered the castle, leaving them on the balcony.

“That’s beautiful, from here!” Henry raved about the view the balcony was offering them.

Deciding that staring at the front doors while waiting for them to open was too much stressing, Emma joined Henry. The view was indeed breathtaking: from there, they could see the village below, the ship, and the ocean stretching up to the horizon. While Henry was wandering around, exploring the surroundings, Emma leant back against Killian when she felt him wrap her in his arms.

“Take a deep breath, love. Everything will be all right.”

Slipping her hand in his, she turned her head and closed her eyes, her forehead and her nose brushing his cheek, his scent helping her to relax. At last, they heard the front doors open and they turned around. Standing by Killian’s side, her hand still in his, she stared at the couple staring back at her. They both stepped towards her and, feeling Killian encouraging her to go to them, she let go of his hand and stepped forward as well. But there was something she couldn’t understand: how could her parents be so young? They looked exactly like on the mosaic, so much that she wondered if the blond-haired baby girl was supposed to represent her. The only explanation she found was that it had all been a mistake: the blond-haired baby girl on the mosaic wasn’t her, and the man and the woman staring at her were not her parents. But the black-haired woman didn’t seem to realize there had been a mistake, and took some more steps towards her. Unable to say anything, Emma was gazing at the woman who was now standing right in front of her, into these greenish eyes filled with tears. She didn’t move when this woman she didn’t know cupped her cheeks and smiled at her before hugging her.

“You found us,” said the woman, emotion showing through her voice.

“So that’s true?” asked Emma, awkwardly wrapping her arms around the woman and looking up at the man who had stepped forward as well. “I’m your daughter?”

The man, emotional as well, nodded and joined the hug, softly placing his hand in the back of her head. Looking for an explanation as to how this couple looking so young could be her parents, Emma remembered she was in a realm where she had seen many surprising things; maybe this was just another one of them. Wrapping one of her arms around the man, she hugged the ones who seemed to be her parents.

“Grandpa?” asked Henry, standing beside him.

The woman’s emotion showed again through what sounded like a laugh. Emma caught the man’s eye, obviously looking for a confirmation, and she nodded, confirming the boy’s word.

“Yeah kid,” said the man, pulling the boy into the hug.

Killian had remained aside, where he and Emma had been standing when looking at the view, but the teary-eyed woman held out her hand to him. As soon as he took it, he was pulled into the hug as well, and Emma felt relieved to have him close to her again.

At last, the embrace loosened and the only arm left around her was Killian’s.

“You brought our daughter home,” said the man, looking at the pirate who nodded.

“In multiple ways,” added Emma, looking up at the one she loved, lacing her fingers with his. She then gazed again at the couple. “So you’re my parents? Snow-White and Prince Charming?”

“Yes,” answered the woman.

“You must have many questions,” guessed the man.

“Yes, I… I don’t even know where to start.”

“We can answer all of them,” assured Charming.

Still teary-eyed and unable to take her eyes off of her daughter, Snow-White reached for her cheek again.

“You found us,” she repeated. “And you found love,” she added, casting a glance at the pirate who let a crooked smile appear on his lips.

“The name’s Killian.”

“And mine’s Henry,” said the boy.

All eyes on him, his words were followed by a silence.

“Henry… like the Evil Queen’s son?” asked Charming.

“Yes, but she only adopted me, I’m not really her son. Emma’s my mum.”

Seeing the worry in their eyes, Emma added, “That’s fine, you don’t have to worry. He’s with us.”

The couple stared at Henry for another moment before deciding to trust their daughter and nodding. Still wondering how they could be her parents, Emma was gazing at them, which Snow-White seemed to notice.

“Many questions need to be answered, I also have so many of them for you. How about we go inside?”

The castle reminded Emma of the one where she had been for her first ball with Killian, when Henry had been kidnapped. The couple led them to a living room and they settled on couches. Emma found herself sitting between Killian and Snow-White. Charming sat down in an armchair while Henry gladly went to sit by Killian’s side.

“There are probably many things you don’t understand,” assessed Charming, looking at his daughter.

“Yes.” Emma looked at the two who were strangers to her and, unable to pick one precise question to ask them, simply turned into words the thoughts flowing through her mind, freeing herself of what had been weighing on her heart all this time. “What happened? I know I wasn’t willingly abandoned and the Evil Queen sent me to this realm where I’ve grown up, Henry told me about that, but he also told me no one had heard of you since the day when I was born. For twenty-eight years, I’ve thought my parents had abandoned me because they didn’t want me. Then, Henry told me about you and the Evil Queen. This was when I understood that my parents had not chosen to give me up. But it also all sounded like my parents were dead, because this was the only reason as to why nobody would have ever heard of you since then. And that’s what I’ve thought for months. But here you are. How are you alive? And why do you look as young as me?”

It was only when she stopped talking that she realized she had maybe been too honest about her feelings. The part she hoped had gone unnoticed was the part Snow-White seemed to focus on: obviously feeling sorry, she reached for her daughter’s arm.

“Emma… I can assure you that you were what we wanted the most. Regina has made us go through many ordeals, but losing you is the worst thing that has ever happened to us.”

“We would have given anything to find you,” added Charming.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” Emma looked down, and focused on how tightly Killian was holding her hand.

“No, it’s good you said it,” said her mother. “You can’t keep these thoughts buried inside you.”

“Now, we haven’t answered your questions. We owe you an explanation, about everything. It’s about time you know what happened, so you can understand how we’re alive or why we look as young as you.”

Emma tightened her hold on Killian’s hand. In front of the ones she was still struggling to consider as her parents, she had tried to keep a polite distance between her and Killian, but she had naturally closed the distance and was leaning against him while looking at the couple, waiting for the answers to questions she had been asking herself for her entire life.

“It all started because of me,” said Snow. “Regina’s hatred, I mean. I was the one to trigger it. I was just a child, I didn’t know. She was good, and there was this boy, Daniel. They were in love. But because of me, she lost him.”

“She’s been in love,” Henry said thoughtfully. “She never talked to me about him.”

“Barely anyone knows about him. It happened a long time ago and she never talks about her past,” Snow explained. “But since then, she’s spent her life trying to ruin mine. When it was my turn to find love, she never stopped trying to pull us apart.”

“Like she’s doing with me and Killian.” Having a vacant look, Emma was thinking of her encounters with the Evil Queen. Despite all the wrong she had done to them, now that she knew about this element of her past, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. “Deep down, she’s just a broken-hearted woman, who gave in to darkness to ease up the pain.”

“Love, you can’t defend her. She’s a monster.”

“I know, but the fact she’s been deprived of love…” Emma knew what it felt like; she had always hated to see this happiness issuing from those couples making out in the streets. She had always assumed Regina was purely evil, but she remembered of how surprised she had been at the ball, when she had seen her with Henry. “There’s good in her. And she’s suffering. That explains why she’s after us; seeing love just reminds her of what she’s lost.”

“That is something you share with your mother,” Charming said. “She was also hoping Regina could redeem herself and become good again.”

“But Emma…” Snow reached for her arm again. “I’ve spent years trying, but she has embraced darkness to the point that good won’t come back.”

Looking down, Emma was still thinking of the ball, remembering of how good she had looked to Henry, and how it had made her feel guilty to take her son away from her. Feeling this guilt again, Emma shook her head to chase the thoughts away. “You’re probably right. I was just trying to understand. Anyway, what happened next? You were saying she never stopped trying to pull you both apart.”

“She came to our wedding, and promised that she would destroy our happiness. And she did. The next time we saw her again was on the day when you were born. You were this adorable baby, our greatest happiness. But she came and took you from us. She then took off her hat and threw it on the floor, and this green light appeared; the hat had opened a portal, and she made you fall through it. You were just a newborn, our baby princess…”

Seeing her mother’s eyes fill with tears, Emma flattened her lips to fight back against the tears. Willing to comfort her, Killian placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

“There was nothing we could do,” Snow went on. “It all happened so fast. You were just a few hours old when… we lost you.”

Snow feeling too emotional to say more, Charming reached for her hand and took over, his eyes locked on his daughter. “You asked how we’re alive and how we look as young as you. No one has ever heard of us since that day because, for years, she kept us locked in a vault. But we didn’t realize. We were in our castle when we had seen her send you through that portal, and on what seemed to be the next moment, we were in this dark vault, with her, who had changed her clothes but was still looking the same. I didn’t understand what had happened or know where we were, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was you.”

Emma was not taking her eyes off of her father while he explained what had happened in this vault.

“Where is Emma? Where did you send our baby?” he had asked the Evil Queen who had laughed, obviously delighted.

“I’ve sent her to some place where you will never find her. Somewhere horrible.” She had been speaking slowly, enjoying every second of this torture she had been inflicting on them. “But do you want to hear the best part of the story? This happened years ago. Your daughter grew up all alone, without anyone to love her, in a world she doesn’t belong to. And if she survived, she is now twenty-one years old.”

The Evil Queen had delightedly watched this mix of confusion, horror and panic, settle on their features, and had then taken perverse pleasure in explaining them what had happened.

“She has kept us frozen in that vault for twenty-one years,” Charming explained, his eyes still locked on her daughter. “When she unfroze us, to us it seemed like barely a minute had passed. But twenty-one years had gone by.”

The Evil Queen had said she had not killed them and had preferred to keep them frozen all this time instead, to think of the best way to make them suffer. She knew they had not been suffering while being frozen, but she had concocted the worst possible plan, a fate worse than death: she had taken their daughter from them and had awakened them to tell them she had been unloved all this time, away from the cherished and happy life they had wanted for her.

“She wanted us to live, so that we would be haunted by the fact we had lost you. But she wanted us to live far away. While we were frozen, she took possession of our castle. She then banished us, and said that she wanted no one to be aware of all of this.”

“She wanted us to remain silent,” Snow added. “I asked her why we would do that; she had already taken everything from us, I felt like we had nothing left to lose. But she told us that maybe you were still somewhere and had something to lose, and she said that if any rumor about us being alive spread across the kingdom, she would find you and ensure to make your life miserable. We didn’t know if she had the power to do that, we didn’t know anything. We didn’t know where you were or whether you were even alive, but we couldn’t take the risk to send her after you. So we left in secrecy.”

“But all these people, on this island, they know who you are,” Henry pointed out.

“True, they do. When leaving the castle, we didn’t know where to go, but we hadn’t given up on the idea to find Emma.” Again, Snow reached for her daughter’s arm. “We went to see a man we knew; if someone could help us, it was him. But he told us there was nothing he or we could do, that we had lost you the same way he had lost his son.”

“Wait,” interrupted Killian. “Lost his son? Are you talking about the Dark One?”

“Yes,” Charming answered, surprised. “You know him?”

“Unfortunately, yes. We had to deal with that monster, but it’s a long story. Thing is, he lied. Again. He knew where Emma was. Unlike his son, he kept track of Emma the whole time.”

“What?” Snow looked shocked. “Why would he lie to us?”

“Because that’s all he does,” answered Killian. “Helping you to find your daughter surely simply wasn’t part of his plans. And he lied again when telling us he had no idea what had happened to the two of you; he knows exactly where you are, right?”

“Yes.” Charming looked taken aback by the revelations about the Dark One. “He knows exactly, as he is the one who led us here. This island does not belong to our former kingdom. As far as I know, it has always been ruled independently. Everything was peaceful, there was respect between our two kingdoms. This changed after we went missing. When Regina stole the crown, this kingdom became self-sufficient and they put an end to all the trades with other kingdoms.”

Remaining silent, Emma had a vacant look and a lump in her throat. The Evil Queen and the Dark One were people who had not been part of her life for months; these months she had spent aboard the Jolly Roger, simply enjoying a perfect life, looked unreal to her. On the previous evening, she had feared everything would change and, the more she was listening to the conversation, the more she was afraid she had been right.

“When we arrived here,” Charming went on, “we kept a low profile. We were welcomed with open arms. It didn’t take long before someone recognized us. We were afraid the news would travel to the Enchanted Forest, but the island was so secluded that our secret was likely to be kept safe. And obviously, it was. When they learned who we really were, they offered us to be at the head of the kingdom; the former king had recently passed away and had no heir.”

“Inhabitants of this island gave us everything, but nothing could change this feeling we had lost everything,” Snow added. “All we wanted was our daughter. As a sign of hope, we decided to send those lights in the sky every year on your birthday. Since we couldn’t find you, there was nothing we could do but hope that _you_ would find us. And you did.”

Emma was looking at her parents and still saying nothing. The only thing Killian wanted was to take her in his arms and make this distress he disliked so much to see in her eyes go.

“Emma… You’re okay?” Snow asked. She, too, could feel her unease, but she also had no idea what to do about it.

Emma looked up at her mother. “Yes. Sorry. I’ll be okay… with time. It’s just… all of this, your story… that’s a lot to take in.”

Not knowing what to say or do, Snow helplessly looked at her husband, who also looked unsure about what to do.

“Would you like to eat anything?” he offered.

“Would I…?” Emma repeated, startled by the question as she was still lost in her thoughts. “No, thanks. I’m not hungry. But if anyone is, you can eat.”

“I can wait,” said Killian.

“Well, I guess I can wait too, then,” said Henry.

A weak laugh escaped Emma and again she looked up at her parents. “This means he will gladly eat anything there is to eat.”

Charming chuckled before nodding to a maid who had entered the room a couple minutes earlier. The maid left, and silence blanketed all of them. Still processing the story her parents had just told her, Emma was looking down and saying nothing. Killian was caressing the back of her hand with his thumb; the move was discreet, but it was what the royal couple was focusing on. They were burning to ask Emma all the questions they had about her past and her life, but they could feel she needed some time, and restrained themselves. In the meantime, still sitting next to the pirate, Henry was looking around the room.

Emma looked up only when the maid came back and brought petits fours on a tray which she put on the coffee table.

“Here’s for you, big boy. And for anyone who might be hungry,” the plump middle-aged woman added with a smile.

“Awesome! Thank you,” said Henry, examining the different sorts before picking two of them.

“Thank you, Johanna.” Snow-White nodded and took a petit four before focusing again on her daughter. She wanted to know everything about her. Emma and Killian had mentioned having dealt with the Dark One and the Evil Queen, and Snow wanted to know what had happened exactly and whether they were safe, but she could feel it was a sensitive subject and didn’t dare to ask.

“Emma, Killian, in case you’re hungry, don’t hesitate and help yourself,” Charming broke the silence, obviously in the same situation as his wife.

Both nodded but didn’t move. Killian’s eyes were locked on the woman he loved. He knew what he could do or say to make her feel better but he felt like, in front of her parents, he could do nothing more than lovingly keep her hand in his. At last, Snow-White picked her first question: avoiding the subjects she felt were the most sensitive, she chose to talk about Henry.

“So, he’s your son?” Snow asked, breaking the silence like Charming had done a moment earlier. She then looked at Killian before adding, “And yours?”

“Adoptive son,” specified Killian with a nod.

About to grab another petit four, Henry stopped himself and leant against the pirate, with a bright smile on his face. “I’ve adopted him as my father, because Killian’s the best dad ever!”

Hearing her son helped Emma to focus on something else than the story of their parents and the fact her absence had ruined their life. But when she looked up, she noticed her parents were both looking from her to Killian and Henry. Of course they had thought Killian was Henry’s birth father, she thought. And it was obvious that knowing he was not had led to many other questions. Emma sighed, and explained before they dared to ask any questions.

“I didn’t know Killian when I had Henry. I was with another man. Who left me. And doesn’t know about Henry. And…”  She was aware she was probably not answering the questions they might have about him, but she didn’t feel like telling more. “I’m sorry but I really don’t want to talk about him.”

“Emma, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to,” Snow reassured.

“Can we offer you to stay?” Charming changed the subject. “Where do you live? Do you have a place on the island?”

“No, we live on our ship,” replied Emma, the thought of the Jolly Roger bringing her a smile. “Well, Killian’s. He’s a pirate.”

The man she loved squeezed her hand and she remembered this word generally didn’t have a positive connotation. But it was too late.

“A pirate?” repeated Charming, paying attention to Killian’s outfit.

“David!” Snow reprimanded.

“Sorry,” he apologized immediately. “That was inappropriate.”

His judgmental tone had made Emma feel awkward, but another detail had caught her attention and she smiled again.

“So you have a name other than Prince Charming?”

“Yes I have,” David chuckled. “Your mother is the one who decided Charming suited me.”

Emma lightly giggled. “This way, next time I’m filling a form and I need to give information about my father, I don’t need to write Prince Charming. Would be weird. In the realm where I lived at least.”

Snow was not taking her eyes off of her daughter, and asked one of the questions which was tormenting her the most. “Was she wrong?”

Emma looked up, confused as she had no idea what her mother meant.

“Regina. Was she wrong?” Snow asked, hopeful. “Have you been happy?”

“Oh.” Emma bit her lip.

Since meeting her parents, she had failed at showing them the happiness they probably had hoped to find in their daughter who was finally reunited with them. She had tried to follow Henry’s example and be cheerful, but the story of her parents had moved her too much. And now, she was asked whether she had been happy. The truth was that happiness had been rare during her lonely childhood and the troubled years she had spent as a young adult, but she felt like her parents had already suffered enough because of her; she decided to focus on the positive part of her story.

“I’ve found happiness a year ago, when I’ve found him,” she said, glancing at Killian before looking again at her parents. “Killian saved me many times, in every possible way. He showed me what it is to love and to be loved. And it became even better when Henry came into our lives. He’s my son, but he grew up without me because I…” She trailed off and, unable to finish her sentence, simply said, “He found me only a few months ago.”

“This runs in the family,” said Charming. “We always find each other.”

“How did you and Killian meet?” asked Snow. She hadn’t been fooled and had guessed that her daughter had not especially been happy before this past year she was mentioning. But by mentioning this part of her life, Emma had tickled Snow’s curiosity, and she had decided to focus on it.

“That’s too bad I’ve left the book in the quarters,” Emma said, glancing at her son. “It’s a book Henry gave me yesterday for my birthday. He wrote down all the story of Killian and I, from the tales Killian told him. And Killian even added some drawings. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s an amazing book. The story started a year and a day ago.”

A smile settled on Emma’s features as she told their story: starting with how this mysterious book had appeared to her after she had made a wish on her birthday, she talked about this old man she had met; this man who had talked about a prophecy saying the one who could give her what she was looking for was Killian Jones. Telling about her encounter with the Jones brothers and mentioning Liam had found love with a mermaid and was now exploring the underwater world, she then talked about their adventure at the top of the beanstalk and her first days on board. Her smile remained even when she talked about how the Evil Queen had taken her away from Killian because, to her, the most important part was that, on both times, he had found and saved her. Emma then explained how, after all this time, she had realized she had misunderstood the prophecy: she had wanted Killian to bring her home, but home was not the realm where she had grown up; he had brought her home by winning her heart, and her home was with him.

“I was the happiest of all the men when she told me that; when she told me she wanted to stay with me,” commented Killian.

“Given the length you’ve gone to save her and do so much more for her, you deserved this happiness,” Charming nodded approvingly to the pirate. “The both of you deserve it. Together.”

“In case she decided to go back there, I had planned on following her to her realm. If she wanted me, that is.” Since her father looked amazed, Killian added, “I’d go to the end of the world for her.”

“This is true love,” Snow commented, flashing her daughter a bright smile. “What happened next?”

“Uh?” The conversation between Killian and her father had totally made her lose the thread of what she had been saying, and she could feel her cheeks were warm.

“After you decided to stay with Killian,” reminded Snow, amused by her daughter’s reaction. “What happened?”

“Oh, yeah. Not long after that, I found Henry. Or rather, Henry found me.”

“Let’s say we found each other,” the boy added between two petits fours.

“Yes, let’s say that,” Emma approved before mentioning the nightmares she had because of the cursed sleep Regina had put her in. It led her to explain how he had found her in Netherworld and how she had then found him on the docks of an island. She told her parents about how, though feeling very unsure at the beginning, the boy had quickly become one of the best parts of her life. Emma concluded her tale by mentioning the pure delight the past weeks had been.

“Emma, this is such a beautiful story.” Snow reached out and tenderly cupped her cheek. Hesitantly at first, Emma covered her mother’s hand with her own, and Snow became teary-eyed as she admired her daughter. “ _You_ are beautiful. And you found us. I’ve said it already, I know. But I can’t express how delighted I am that you did.” Snow paused for a moment, realizing she didn’t know about this part of the story. “How did you do it? How did you know where to find us?”

“I didn’t. Until yesterday night, I had no idea you were still alive. We had no idea about who was living in this castle we’ve been seeing every day for months. But yesterday night, Killian and I were on deck, and we saw these lights in the sky. In the Enchanted Forest, they might not know about Snow-White and Prince Charming being alive, but there are stories about those lights being sent up in the sky in honor of a lost princess, on her birthday. I’d never heard of these stories, but Henry had, and when he saw the lights, on the night of my birthday, he came running to us and kept saying I was the lost princess and I had to go to the castle to meet you.”

“They were not believing me,” said the boy. “They thought it was a celebration which had nothing to do with her.”

“Speaking of celebration,” Charming said. “Now that you, our princess, have returned, one is in order. Unless you don’t want to; it is actually up to you. Have you ever danced?”

“A ball?” Emma asked, her eyes lighting up as she thought of how much she had loved dancing with Killian during her first royal ball.

“Yes, that’s the tradition. Whenever something good happens, a ball is organized. I must say I never had a better reason than today to announce a ball. Do you know how to dance?”

“There’s only one rule: pick a partner who knows what he’s doing,” Emma repeated what Killian had told her on the first time they had danced. “I don’t really know how to dance, but he knows.”

“She’s a natural,” Killian told her parents. “But she won’t believe me when I tell her how beautiful she is and how majestically she dances.”

“Well, you’ll be able to be the judges of that,” said Emma, her cheeks more colored than usual. “As I’d love to dance at a ball tonight.”


	18. Royal Ball

Holding Killian’s hand, Emma was following her parents across the castle. Henry was with them as well, cheerfully walking by the pirate’s side. After they had decided there would be, in the evening, a royal ball to celebrate the return of the lost princess, Snow-White and Prince Charming had resisted the temptation to ask their daughter any other questions about her past, by fear of making her feel even more overwhelmed than she already seemed to be. They had offered them to visit the castle instead, mentioning there were some rooms which could be theirs if they wanted a place to stay other than on their ship. Walking along corridors, Killian kept casting glances at Emma; she was usually looking around while listening to her parents’ explanations about the different places, but when she seemed to be lost in her thoughts, Killian tried to get her attention back and, still holding her hand, he playfully swung their arms. It had the expected effect: she smiled and swung their arms some more, before shifting closer to him.

“Henry? This can be your room, if you want.” Charming opened a door and let the four of them enter.

“Awesome!” After having looked around, the boy excitedly went to examine the books on the shelf.

“Do you enjoy reading?” Snow asked.

“Yes! And this room is perfect!”

“Larger than your cabin,” Killian chuckled.

“Didn’t your room look as good as this one, with Regina?” Emma asked.

“Yes, but this one is even better because, now, I also have you and Killian.” Henry then went to the window. “So cool! We can even see the ship from here!”

“The ship?” Charming asked, coming to him.

“The Jolly Roger! Right here, look.” Henry pointed the ship, before remembering. “Oh, but you can’t see it. Mum protected it.”

Both Snow-White and Charming turned to Emma, who had stayed with Killian in the entrance of the room.

“Uh, that’s something I haven’t mentioned.” The thought they might associate magic with darkness crossed her mind and she wondered how they would react. “I have magic.”

“You have magic?” Her mother repeated.

Emma was judging their reactions; both of them looked surprised, but there seemed to be no sign of rejection on their features. They were obviously just curious for more details, but Emma had no idea where to start to explain it.

Killian seemed to catch her hesitation and whispered, “Simply show them.”

Emma nodded. Willing to make sure they would not associate her magic with darkness, she thought of something she had never tried. Moving her hand, a silver light came out of it and turned into a doe which galloped around the room before vanishing.

“Wow.” Still looking at the spot where the silver doe had vanished, Charming looked mesmerized.

“Mum! You’ve never showed me that!”

“Emma, this is beautiful,” Snow came to her, obviously in wonder.

Emma glanced at Killian who, unwilling to overwhelm her, simply nodded approvingly with a proud smile on his lips, once again loving her magic.

“Where does this magic come from?” Charming asked, still awestruck.

“I’m not sure. Rumplestitskin told me I have magic because I’m the product of true love.”

“That’s how you know Rumplestitskin?” Snow didn’t resist and asked one of the many questions she had. “Did he help you with your magic?”

“Yes and no, it’s a long story.” Thinking of how the Dark One had ended up betraying them, Emma flattened her lips. “Can we not talk about him for now?”

“Sorry. We don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want to,” her mother reassured her.

“How about we show you the room we have for you?” Charming changed the subject.

“Aye, that sounds good to me,” answered Killian while Emma nodded. “Lad, are you coming, or are you exploring your new quarters?”

Looking up from one of the books, he gave his grandparents a bright smile. “Can I stay?”

“Of course, you can,” Charming approved.

The four of them went to the upper floor and didn’t walk long before they stopped in front of the door.

“When we were in our castle before Regina took you away from us, we had prepared a room for you,” explained Snow, her hand on the door handle. “When we arrived here, in this new castle, we were hoping you’d find us, and we decided this room would be yours. But if there’s anything you don’t like, or anything you’d like to change, we can.”

“Don’t worry,” Emma reassured with a smile. “It’ll be fine, open the door.”

Snow complied and let her daughter and Killian enter a light purple and white room, even larger than Henry’s.

“As I said, you didn’t need to worry,” said Emma, turning to her mother.

“Do you like it?”

“I can assure you this is the best room I’ve ever had. It’s perfect.”

“There should be everything you need. In the wardrobe, there are clothes, which will hopefully fit. The door there leads to your bathroom. There’s also a balcony with view on the ocean; maybe that’ll help you not to feel too disoriented,” Snow mentioned with a smile. “If there’s anything missing, you can just tell us.”

“Don’t worry,” Emma repeated. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

“Well, we can give you some time to take your mark,” offered Charming. “In the meantime, we will spread the news that our lost princess has returned, and announce the ball for tonight.”

“Emma?” Snow hesitantly asked, not having taken her eyes off of her daughter all this time. “Now is too early but in a few hours… can I help you get ready for the ball?”

“Oh.” Not having expected the question, Emma glanced at Killian before nodding. “Sure.”

“Good! Then, I’ll come back at about five. And if you need anything…”

“We come and find you,” Emma finished her mother’s sentence.

Snow-White smiled and nodded, before leaving the room with Charming.

“Leaving their daughter alone with a man, in a bedroom. That’s cool parents you have there,” Killian joked when the door closed, before becoming serious again. “How are you feeling, love?”

“A bit overwhelmed. And they probably felt it; reason why they thought I’d enjoy some time away from them.” Emma looked down, feeling guilty. “I’ve tried to smile and look as cheerful as Henry, but I simply couldn’t. Not with this story they told. Killian, I feel like I’ve ruined their life.”

“Love…” Tenderly, he wrapped her in his arms. “You did nothing like that.”

“I know it is not really my fault, because I haven’t decided anything, but knowing they’ve spent years desperately waiting for me to come back makes me feel so bad.”

“Emma, love, this won’t lead you anywhere to blame yourself. None of this is your fault, and it is now in the past. Focus on the present, you are now reunited with them. It’ll be all right.”

“I know I’ve just met them, and maybe I’m supposed to be willing to stick to them and never let them get out of my field of vision… but I’m not.” She broke his embrace to look him in the eye, biting her lip. “Is that bad that I find all of this overwhelming, and that what I want the most, right now, is a moment with just us, you and me?”

“This doesn’t sound bad at all, Emma. I know you enough to know that, whenever you feel overwhelmed, you need some time on your own, and I’ve expected it to happen. But today, it seems like instead of choosing to be alone, you’re allowing me to stay. That’s much better than what I had expected.”

Killian reached for her cheek and she tilted her head on the side to lean on his fingers.

“I would get lost in my thoughts if I stayed alone; something you won’t let happen if you stay here with me. And I don’t mean I don’t love the fact that I’ve found my parents. I do want to see them again and to learn to know them. But for now, all I want is to be with you and only you.”

“Well…” Gazing at her, he trailed off. His fingers slipped under her chin and his thumb grazed over her lips. “I see no reason why we couldn’t get such a moment.”

Emma tiptoed to kiss his cheek, flashed him a smile, and headed to the balcony, leaving him behind. She stepped outside and barely had time to wait before Killian joined her and intertwined his fingers with hers. Wrapping herself in his arms, she leant back against him.

“Where did you think you were going?” Killian asked, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Exactly where I am. I wanted to see the view from the balcony. And I knew you would follow me.”

Tilting her head, she nuzzled into his neck for a moment, before looking ahead of them; the balcony was offering the same view as the window in Henry’s room. Her eyes locked on the Jolly Roger, Emma thought of the past evening, and of everything her two men had done to ensure she would enjoy her birthday.

“You’ve done so much for me, yesterday. You and Henry. Even more than usual,” Emma said, still looking at their ship. “But it feels like those lights in the sky shortened our evening.”

Hearing her mention the past evening, Killian feared she would ask him what he was about to say when the lights in the sky distracted them. He could feel the small box which was still in his pocket. They were only the two of them, and the view was splendid; he could bring the box out of his pocket and propose to her right away. Or he could wait for the ball in the evening. Considering these possibilities made his heart beat faster, but he then remembered what he had told Henry: to be patient. The woman he loved had just found her parents and was currently feeling overwhelmed; for her, he needed to stick to his decision to wait for a few days at least.

Curious about why he was remaining silent, Emma looked up at him. “What are you thinking of?”

Pulled out of his thoughts, he flashed her a smile. “Of you.”

Turning in his arms, she was about to kiss him when she realized that, on this balcony, anyone could see them. Taking his hand, she pulled him inside and gently pushed him back against the chest of drawers before capturing his lips and melting in his embrace.

Leaning her forehead against his, she looked down, and an object on the chest of drawers caught her eye.

“We don’t have any of those on our ship,” she said, holding the mirror at their level.

The hand mirror being rather small, Killian pressed his cheek against hers so that they could see the reflection of the both of them. Emma saw a crooked smile tug at his lips.

“I don’t know who these two people are, but they make a very beautiful couple,” Killian joked while admiring their own reflection. “The man is a lucky one; the woman by his side looks stunning.”

“Killian,” Emma giggled.

She bit her lip when she witnessed the tenderness with which his reflection kissed the cheek of hers, and felt the touch of his lips on her skin.

“The woman is even luckier,” she said, feeling like melting in his embrace. “The man loves her in a way which she has never thought was possible.”

“That’s up for debate.”

“No, that’s not. Let me stick to the idea I’m the lucky one.”

“You’re free to think whatever you want,” he chuckled. “Even if it’s not true.”

“I can’t hear what you’re saying,” she stubbornly said, repressing a smile and looking around the room. “I can’t believe this room is ours. The whole apartment I had in Boston could almost fit in there.”

“Much more spacious than our quarters, I must admit.”

“Look at this bed. It must be at least three times as large as our bed in the quarters.” She looked up at him to catch his eye. “Tell me we’ll still sleep as close to each other as usual, even if we have more space.”

“I don’t intend to let you drift to the other side of that bed which is way too large for the both of us,” he replied with a smile. “No matter where we are, feeling you against me is my only request.”

“Good.”

She smiled and pecked his lips before distractedly looking around again, as there were many parts of the room she had yet to explore. The door leading to the bathroom caught her attention and she went to open it, once again leaving Killian behind.

“Oh, wow.”

Like the bedroom, the bathroom was rather spacious and the bathtub, larger than any bathtub she had ever seen, gave Emma an idea. She turned to Killian.

“How much would you like to take a bath?” She lightly tilted her head on the side, before adding, “With me?”

Casting a glance at the bathroom, the tip of his tongue appeared in the corner of his lips and he smiled. “How could I refuse such an offer?”

Flashing him a bright smile, she went to run a bath while Killian went to lock the door leading into the corridor.

* * *

“The water’s cold again,” Emma pointed out.

Still in the bathtub, their bodies were connected in the most intimate way. She was sitting on his lap, with her legs wrapped around his waist. Their arms were tightly wrapped around each other and, with their faces in each other’s neck, they were breathing each other in. The water had had time to go cold four times already, but Emma had found a way to fix it: for the fourth time, she loosened her embrace, plunged her hands into the water and used her magic to warm it up.

“Perhaps it’s time for us to get out of this bathtub,” Killian suggested.

“Let’s just wait for the water to go cold once again.”

Wrapping her arms around him, she nuzzled into his neck and pressed a soft kiss there. His fingers softly closed around her wrist and he took her hand out of the water.

“Look at this.” With a smirk, he indicated her wrinkled fingers.

“I look like an old prune,” Emma observed when examining them. She looked him in the eye before asking, “Will that stop you from loving me?”

He chuckled when he heard her question. “Nope. Nothing will.”

“Then, we can stay in here a bit longer.”

Taking her hand back, she let her fingers go through his messy damp strands of hair while his hand went down to her hip. After having played with his hair and made it even messier, her hand then slipped down the side of his face and she leant her forehead against his. An idea made her smile and, without any warning, she unleashed her magic and let her hands flare, and trailed her fingertips along his arm. His hold on her hip instantly tightened. With tense arms, his hand then slipped in her back and he tightened his embrace, making her bite her lip to muffle the sound that threatened to come out as he brought her even closer to him.

“Emma…”

“Yes?” she asked with a smile, her fingers stopping right above his elbow.

“This thing you’re doing with your magic…”

“This?” Again, she trailed her fingertips along his arm and was unable to repress a smile as his eyes closed and his lips parted.

“Aye, this,” he answered, his forehead still against hers, their eyes closed. “You know how much I enjoy feeling your magic, but you shouldn’t be doing this.”

Stopping her fingers again and holding the upper part of his arm, she looked up. “Why?”

“You’ll be exhausted if you use your magic like this.”

Judging his reason as invalid, she let her hands flare again and followed the lines of his torso with her fingertips. “Since yesterday, this thing with my parents and everything... That’s too much emotion. If I hadn’t been in control, my hands wouldn’t have stopped flaring since yesterday night. But somehow it feels like all the energy I would have used has been stored, and needs to be released.”

“You’re saying letting you give me all kinds of feels actually helps you?”

“Exactly!” She smiled brightly and kissed him, making him moan as she pressed flat hands in his neck. She let her hands slip down his body before trailing up again, hardly catching her own breath as he had his own way to let her feel his delight.

It was only when the water went cold again that they got out of the bath. Killian wrapped her in a towel and she let him use it to rub her, taking advantage of it to lean against him. It was when he left her in the middle of the bathroom to go and grab another towel that she followed him and stopped him before he had time to get one for himself.

“Come with me, captain,” she said while wrapping both of them in her towel. “This one is large enough for the two of us.”

He smirked as he found himself against her, “Why would we use two towels when we can be reunited in one?”

She giggled, keeping the towel wrapped around them as tightly as she could. “It’s warmer when you’re here. Even if that may not be the most convenient way to go back to the room. All our clothes are there.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s a problem,” he said with a smile. “It simply requires some synchronization. Much like dancing. Speaking of, do you have any idea how much I love the idea that tonight I will get the chance to dance with you again?”

“How much?” she asked, fighting to avoid getting completely lost into his eyes.

“A lot. And this time, we won’t even have to worry about anything, we’re not on some mission. We’re just here to enjoy the night. Do you remember how to dance?”

“Not at all. You should teach me all again.”

Killian smirked. “You’re a very bad liar.”

But since dancing was what he wanted to do, he was glad she had pretended she needed him to show her again. Both his arms being under the towel, he slipped one of them in her back, and got the other one out of the towel to take her hand.

“Are you really planning on waltzing to the bedroom?” Emma asked, amused.

“Aye!”

Waltzing to the bedroom was what they did, but it wasn’t as easy as they had expected. Emma mixed the steps up and made the both of them trip, but they managed to hold themselves up and ended up laughing, holding onto each other.

“Remember, all you need to do is to let me guide you,” Killian reminded.

“I’m trying. Seems like I wasn’t lying, after all. I do need some more training,” she playfully teased him, while they were still standing in the bathroom. “Okay, we need to be in sync. When you start again, which foot do I need to move?”

“The left one. Ready?”

She nodded and they started waltzing again. But the towel was wrapped around them so tightly that moving synchronously was more difficult than they had planned: they lost balance, but once again, Killian reacted fast enough and they held themselves up. Both amused by this challenge, they started dancing again, until being close enough to the bed to let themselves fall onto it. Emma found herself lying on top of him.

“We should get around like this more often; both trapped in a tightly wrapped towel.”

“Aye, that was a fun experience.”

Examining his features, she didn’t resist long before kissing him. She then freed herself from the towel and sat up on his thighs. Her gaze traveled over his body while her fingertips followed his lines, and Killian lightly shivered; again, she had unleashed some of her magic and was letting her hands flare.

“I still have some magic to use. And we still have some time.” She stopped moving her fingers to give him time to regain his composure, and looked up to catch his eye. “Since I can’t seem to get enough of you… Will you love me again?”

“Come here,” he said with a tender smile.

His hand trailing up her back, he pulled her down to him, before rolling her under him. His hand reached for her shoulder and trailed down her arm. He then took her hand to softly pin it on the mattress.

“If there is one thing that I don’t want to ever stop, it’s loving you.”

* * *

Lying by her side, his eyes locked on hers, he was trailing his fingers over her body.

“Perhaps it is now time to hide this flawless body of yours under some clothes,” Killian suggested.

“I wonder what kind of clothes there are in the wardrobe. Do you think there’s something else than dresses?”

“The best way to know is to go and see by yourself.”

Shifting closer to him, she softly kissed his lips.

“Stay here.” She stood up and went to the wardrobe. Quickly, she looked through the different clothes. “Only dresses! And… there’s nothing for you.”

Killian chuckled. “Your parents probably didn’t expect their daughter to come along with a devilishly handsome pirate captain.”

“That must be it. So many dresses, how am I even supposed to choose?” Emma asked while examining the content of the wardrobe. “Give me a color.”

She turned to him and her mind went blank because of the view: lying on his side, leaning on his elbow, he simply looked flawless. Not even hearing his answer, her eyes traveled from his head to his feet. A smirk made its way to his features as he noticed she seemed lost.

“What is it?” he asked, trying to hide his amusement.

“It’s just… you.” She lightly shook her head, trying to focus. Willing to hear more about it, he said nothing and raised an inquiring eyebrow. She caught his eye and, still lost, felt like telling him everything, as if there was no filter between her thoughts and her words anymore. “You’re just unbelievably handsome. I don’t know why I’m still surprised. Maybe it’s because our quarters aren’t so spacious, so I’m not used to see you undressed from this distance, and this overall view is just… I just wonder what I’ve done to deserve… this,” she said, gesturing at his body.

Unable to repress his laugh any longer, he chuckled. “Wouldn’t you be the one who can’t handle it?”

“Maybe,” she admitted, feeling her cheeks warm up as she wondered why she had said all of this. Remembering what she had been doing, she turned to the wardrobe again, and it reminded her of the question she had asked him. “What color?”

“Red.” He chuckled. “It’s nice to see I have such an effect on you. I’ve already answered you, you know?”

He laughed as he heard her mumble something unintelligible. From where he was, he was only able to identify the words ‘pirate’ and ‘unfair’. He craned his neck to try and have a better view, as the door of the wardrobe was hiding her, but he still couldn’t see much.

When she came into view again, she was wearing a red dress; it was the simplest one she had found, but it was enough to catch all of Killian’s attention.

“You look amazing.”

The words were simple but they were enough to make a soft blush cover her cheeks. She glanced at her reflection in the full-length mirror standing in the corner of the room.

“There’s another dress which I’d like to try.”

“I have all the time in the world,” Killian said, still lying on the bed, not taking his eyes off of her.

This time not bothering to hide behind the door of the wardrobe, she took the red dress off in front of him and grabbed the light blue one she had spotted among the others. She tried it on and walked to the bed.

“Can you help me?” she asked, standing with her back to him, holding her hair over one shoulder, her dress needing to be zipped up.

“Of course I can.”

She then felt his lips on her shoulder.

“Killian, what are you doing?” she asked, amused. “I was asking for your help with the dress.”

“I know,” he chuckled. “I’m just kissing your shoulder before it’s covered with a piece of fabric.”

Feeling his fingers at the level of her lower back, she then felt him gently zip up her dress. She turned to him and he looked her up and down.

“You look amazing.”

“That’s exactly what you said for the first one.”

“It’s not my fault,” he looked up with a crooked smile. “You’re so beautiful that you look amazing in anything.”

“Killian…”

“The red one,” he said.

“Hmm?” Distracted, she looked up.

“About the dress. Focus, love,” he chuckled. “I’m saying that if I need to choose one, I’ll choose the red one.”

“Alright, I’ll change. In the meantime…” Looking him up and down, she then looked around and spotted what she was looking for. Picking up some of his clothes on the floor, she handed them to him. “Dress up. This way, I won’t be so tempted to... Anyway, my… parents may come back soon.”

They were both on the balcony when Snow and Charming came back.

“Emma?” asked her mother. “It’s time. Are you still willing to come with me?”

The daughter nodded and, after a last caress, let go of Killian’s hand and followed her mother out of the room, leaving him alone with Charming.

“I owe you an apology, for what I’ve said earlier,” said David. “When I’ve obviously judged you for being a pirate. That was inappropriate.”

“Worry not,” Killian reassured. “Being a pirate is generally not something to be mentioned in front of royals.”

“But it is clear that you became a pirate only to escape Regina. You protected my daughter, and you’re giving her the love she deserves,” acknowledged Charming. “This is why I truly want to apologize for what I’ve said earlier.”

“Apologies accepted, mate. If I may call you that.”

“I guess you can,” the man said with a laugh. He patted the pirate’s shoulder and considered his clothes. “As I said, I don’t have anything against the fact you call yourself a pirate, but would you like some outfit more appropriate for a royal ball? I have one in mind which could suit you.”

“Aye, why not? If Emma adopts the royal customs, I see no reason why I shouldn’t do the same.”

* * *

Emma followed Snow to another room. While going there, they stopped by Henry’s room, and found him reading a book.

“Henry seems to be an adorable boy,” Snow said in the corridor.

“He is. He’s always so cheerful… It wasn’t easy at first, but now, it’s always a pleasure to spend some time together.” Being alone with her mother was making her feel nervous, and she tried to avoid an awkward silence. “So… what does getting ready for a ball imply, exactly? Last time I went to a royal ball, I didn’t need to do anything. Magic did it all.”

“Oh, do you want to use your magic?”

“No, I’ll do it your way. I guess this dress I’m wearing won’t do, for a ball?”

“This dress fits you very well and you look beautiful,” Snow said, admiring her daughter as she walked past her and entered the room. “But indeed, it won’t do for a royal ball. I think I know which one you should try.”

Emma waited while Snow went to pick a dress for her in the large wardrobe. When she saw the off-white dress, she gaped.

“Are you sure about the color?” she asked.

“Mine will be the same color,” Snow reassured. “Try it.”

Carefully taking the dress, Emma went behind the folding screen. Struggling with the lace in her back, she hesitated before calling, “I think I need some help. Can you come?”

“Of course.” A smile brightened her features when she saw her daughter. “It fits you perfectly.”

While Snow took care of the lace, Emma was silently examining the long sleeves of her dress.

“Take a look at you,” her mother said, leading her in front of a full-length mirror. “You look beautiful.”

“Are you sure this is not too much?” Emma asked, staring at her reflection.

“This is a royal ball,” Snow reminded her.

“But it looks like a wedding dress.”

“Are you and Killian married?” She casually asked while placing a stool in front of a mirror.

Emma opened wide eyes and sat down. “No.”

“Well…” she said, placing her hands on her shoulders, lowering her head to her level and looking at their reflections in the mirror. “Maybe one day you will have the chance to see that wedding gowns are much more sophisticated than this one.”

“Maybe,” Emma repeated, her thoughts starting to drift.

“I see the way you two look at one another. It’s true love.”

“He makes me happy. Happier than I’ve ever been,” Emma admitted, a blush coating her cheeks since she was not used to openly talk about her feelings with anyone but Killian.

“True love is the most precious thing in the world, and I can’t express how happy I am that you found it.”

Looking at their reflections, Emma took her mother’s hand and tilted her head on the side to press her cheek against the back of her fingers.

“If you knew how many times I’ve dreamed of going to a ball with you,” Snow went on. “I remember my first ball. I was eight years old, and my mother said I was finally old enough to go. It was magical... All of the lights, the music. And I remember thinking, ‘I can't wait to someday share all of this with a daughter of my own.’ I’ve waited much longer than I expected, but the wait was worth it; you’re so beautiful. And I’m finally getting the chance to share this with you.”

“I’m glad I get to share it with you too.”

Both gazing at each other’s reflection, Snow became teary-eyed and Emma flattened her lips to fight back against the tears, as she couldn’t help herself from thinking; what if she had grown up in this realm? What if, at eight years old, she had been to her first royal ball with loving parents, instead of being rejected by another foster family?

Snow shook her head and straightened up. “Your hair needs to be done. Can I?”

Emma nodded and let go of her hand, watching her mother in the mirror. Snow played with her hair, trying to imagine what the different hairstyles she had in mind could look like.

“You also need to get ready,” Emma pointed out.

“I will. Once you’re ready. Isn’t it what a mother is supposed to do? To put her child first?”

“Maybe.”

At last, Snow decided to leave her daughter’s hair loose.

“Your hair looks beautiful like this. There’s no need to do anything complicated. If we just add a crown or a diadem,” suggested Snow. But she saw Emma’s expression and added, “Or maybe that’s a bit too much for you for now?”

“Is it necessary?”

“You’re a princess,” Snow reminded her.

“I know but… it doesn’t seem natural to me.”

“Natural… I think I know exactly what we need.” Snow went to take something in one of the drawers, and placed on Emma’s head a thin crown of flowers. “What do you think?”

“I like it,” Emma replied with a smile. “Thank you.”

It was then Snow’s turn to get ready. As she had told Emma, she was also wearing an off-white dress, though the touches of gold made it look less like a wedding dress than Emma’s.

“What time does the ball start?” Emma asked while Snow was finishing to arrange her hair.

“It has started already.”

“What? Are we late?”

“No,” Snow reassured. “That’s how it’s supposed to happen. Killian and your father have surely welcomed most of the guests by now.”

“Already? And what about Henry?”

“Don’t worry, Emma. He’s with them as well. And we’re going to join them now.”

Leaving the room, Emma followed her mother along corridors. Snow nodded at the guard standing ahead of them, and the guard left.

“Where did he go?”

“To the ballroom, to announce we’re coming.”

“I guess being the lost princess who has just returned makes it impossible for me to enter this ballroom discreetly?”

“Everyone will be delighted to meet you. Announcements are a tradition. But if it makes you feel too much uncomfortable, we can skip that part.”

“Are we going in there together?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I’ll be fine,” Emma reassured with a smile. “It’s about time I know what it feels like to be a princess, right?”

“It’s never too late. Everything will be fine, you’ll see.”

They could hear the brouhaha of the crowd gathered in the ballroom as they came closer.

“Just wait here.” Snow pulled both of them to a stop. “They should announce us soon.”

She barely had time to finish her sentence when they heard a man’s voice call, “Now please welcome, Queen Snow-White and Princess Emma!”

Silent fell over the whole place and Emma suddenly felt nervous.

“Take a deep breath, it’ll all be fine.”

Holding hands, the two women stepped forward and came into view, and the crowd became noisy again as they acclaimed the princess and her mother. On Emma’s left side was a balustrade, ending a few meters ahead of her to give way to stairs. The stairs were leading down to the ballroom, where everyone was gathered, looking up at them. Once at the top of the stairs, the thought she may stumble, and make a fool of herself by falling down, crossed her mind and Emma suddenly felt scared. But then, she saw him; Killian was there, waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. She saw him exchange a glance with Charming, who was standing beside him, before he locked his eyes on her. She saw him, and all of her worries seemed to instantly vanish. Not taking her eyes off of him and becoming unaware of everything else, she walked down the stairs and soon found herself right in front of him.

“Princess Emma,” he said with a bow, “You look…”

“I know,” she interrupted him with a bright smile. Gazing at his face all this time, it was only then that she noticed he had traded his red velvet vest for a red leather one, and had a different coat, with a collar inlaid with beads and bordered with red velvet. “And look at you, this outfit!”

“The royal version of my pirate’s outfit. Luckily for me, leather has its place in your father’s wardrobe.” Killian looked her up and down. “This dress…”

“Is not red,” Emma finished his sentence, thinking of how he had picked the red color a couple hours earlier.

“I can assure you also look stunning in a white dress.”

Bashfully biting her lip, she looked down and took his hand. Only then able to think, she looked up again. “Where’s Henry?”

“Somewhere around here.” Killian craned his neck to look around and chuckled. “I knew it. Look, he’s right there, over the buffet.”

Emma caught a glimpse of her son. Also wearing a new outfit, he seemed to be examining the different desserts. The music started and Killian bowed again.

“Princess Emma, can I have this dance?”

“As if you needed to ask,” she giggled. Once again, she became unaware of anything but him when she locked her eyes on him.

“You’re not going to enjoy this dance,” Killian warned with a smirk while leading her to the dancefloor, where couples were aligned, with all the women forming a line facing the line formed by the men.

“How could I not enjoy a dance with you?”

“I call this one the no-touch dance,” Killian explained, knowing what was to come. “Imagine our hands are like repulsive magnets; they can’t touch.”

“What?”

“You’ll see,” said Killian, stepping back to line up with the other men.

“How can I know what I’m supposed to do, if I don’t have you to guide me?”

“You’ll know, because you’re a natural,” Killian winked.

“Don’t worry, Emma,” Snow reassured, in the meanwhile making her notice she was standing right beside her, while Charming was standing right beside Killian.

Emma glanced around. She and Killian had been one of the first couples to take their place in the line in the center of the room. Three lines were now formed. It then happened: the dance started and Emma hastened to imitate everyone else as they all took a step forward; she stepped forward as well, getting closer to Killian, and bowed before stepping backward. She glanced sideways at her mother, raised her right hand at shoulder’s level and stepped forward again. Her hand found itself a couple centimeters away from Killian’s, their palms facing each other, and they turned around.

“See?” Killian asked. “You know what to do.”

Focusing, she replied only with a smile, and imitated her mother as she lowered her hand after just one turn and stepped back. She then raised her left hand and came closer to Killian, turning around with her hand a couple centimeters away from his hook.

Killian indicated the hook. “My apologies for the inconvenience. Would be better with an actual hand.”

“My problem isn’t your hook,” Emma said with an amused smile.

After just one turn, she stepped back again, and became more confident when seeing she just needed to repeat the moves; raising her right hand, she stepped forward.

“What is it?” Killian asked.

“My problem is… How am I supposed to resist the temptation to touch you when you’re right in front of me like this?”

Killian chuckled as they stepped back.

“Even your hook, I’m not supposed to touch?” Emma asked during the next turn.

“No cheating, love.”

The next turn involved both hands, and Emma was careful to keep the required distance between hers and Killian’s.

“Now, you can stop resisting,” Killian said with a smirk.

At first not knowing what he meant, Emma then saw the couples around her starting what looked like a waltz. Before she had time to react, Killian placed her left hand on his shoulder, her right hand on his hook, and pulled her closer to him by slipping his hand in her back.

“Much better,” Emma said when they started waltzing.

Getting lost in his eyes, she let him guide her, even if she needed his indications less and less, which he noticed.

“Love, can you feel it? I’m not doing anything. You know where to go.”

“I do: I’m going where you go,” she said, indeed feeling that her feet seemed to move naturally. “I’m still not supposed to kiss you, am I?”

“Resist me,” Killian said with a teasing smirk. “We may not be able to kiss, but we can try and be closer.”

His hand slipped further in her back and he pulled her against him.

“Do you think anyone would even notice if we kissed?”

Killian chuckled. “Do you honestly think no one is looking at us right now?”

“Are they looking at us?” Emma asked, the thought of the guests being examining her every move worrying her.

“They are, and you don’t need to worry about it, because they’re probably thinking of how wonderful you look. I was there to welcome the guests, they were all impatient to see you. They all love you already. It’s like you’ve finally truly found a home.”

“I had already found a home when I met you. And now, I’ve found this place, and it is all thanks to you and Henry.” She drowned into his eyes while they kept waltzing. “I love you.”

Her hand slipped over his shoulder and to the nape of his neck. Coming to a halt in the middle of the dancefloor, she tiptoed and kissed him rather passionately, despite the fact they were surrounded by guests.

“I love you and, if this place is my new home, I actually think the guests should know that their princess is head over heels in love with her man and cannot resist him.”

Killian flashed her a crooked smile and started waltzing again. “Princess Emma, I hope you know the feeling is shared; this pirate is absolutely unable to resist the woman he loves.”

“Hearing this is always a pleasure.”

Keeping her eyes locked on his, she was unaware of everything else; she didn’t notice how many couples had stepped aside to admire them, or how her mother was once again teary-eyed while she was discussing with Charming the way she and Killian seemed to be happily lost in a world that belonged only to the both of them.

“I know the Jolly Roger has been your home for years, but would you mind if we stayed here, on land, for a while?”

“Of course not. We can stay here as long as you wish. Whether we’re on land or on the ocean, my home is where you are.”

A bright smile illuminated her features. “Good!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is not over! The third and last part of the Bring Me Home series, Come Back to Me, will soon be available!

**Author's Note:**

> Emma and Killian's adventures are not over!  
> The third and last part of the Bring Me Home series, Come Back to Me, is now available!


End file.
